Goodnight Summer
by Drindalis
Summary: Brotherhood has come naturally to X, despite only finding out about Speed a year ago. But how will he be able to handle being thrown into the past in order to save his little brother from a life in a coma? And there's this small matter of a time limit...
1. The Beginning

DJG: "I've decided that the best course of action is NOT to rewrite or update my old story on here, Crash and Burn, but completely forsake it in favor of starting a new story that came to me out of nowhere. Thus, this monstrosity was created."

Muse: "Just get ON with it!"

DJG: "Ah yes, very well then. I've forced the plot bunny to handle all disclaimers and such."

Plot Bunny Speed: "Uh…okay."

DJG: "GREAT! I now own your soul!"

Muse: *grumbles* "I'm way cuter than him…I've always done the disclaimer…"

Plot Bunny Speed: *scoots away from DJG and Muse* "Drindalis owns nothing except the story idea. All the characters are property of…uh…who owns them again? Well, anyway, it's not Drindalis."

DJG: *sobs* "I appreciate you rubbing it in."

* * *

><p>X muttered to himself, face down on his desk as he snored away Professor Anisgov's lecture. Normally he wouldn't dare trying to get away with such a thing, but he had been up almost all night studying for the essay portion of Professor Winn's end-of-the-year test. It counted for a third of his final grade, and he did NOT want to risk getting anything lower than a B.<p>

"_A's are for geeks and F's are for losers. Plus, if Spritle doesn't like my grades, he'll lock down the Shooting Star this summer!"_

And if Spritle took away X's car, the teen wouldn't be able to go through with his plans. See, this would be the first official summer Speed spent with X and Spritle in the ranch house. Not that the stubborn teen would ever admit it, but he was really excited. Sure, he saw Speed daily, but they lived on the opposite side of campus from each other. It was a bit different than sharing a room, like they would need to in Spritle's house.

"_We might not need to, if Spritle gets the construction crew in soon enough!"_

Some might consider X's attitude about the summer a bit…unusual, given his usual, aloof personality. No, he just wanted to educate Speed in the ways of an only child before they spent the rest of the summer watching old VHS tapes until three in the morning, sleeping in until noon, and racing through the desert.

That was, realistically, all that would be accomplished. Spritle's house wasn't really equipped for entertaining teenagers, due to the fact that when X had started actually attending the Academy, he had dragged practically every one of his earthly possessions over to his dorm room for the year.

That brought X to another topic.

The school, as a rule, was generally empty during the summer, minus the janitor who had the entire place cleaned by 9:42 a.m. sharp.

Why would X know this, you may ask? Well, with no family besides his uncle, X lived with Spritle practically his entire life. And there were certain benefits to having the Headmaster of a _huge_ school with _tile_ floors be your uncle. Socks _alone_ could keep X entertained for hours when he was younger...but if someone were to see him sliding down the halls now...no, no. Gotta keep up the image.

X's daydream was shattered as a yardstick suddenly smacked the desk next to his head, causing him to bolt awake violently. "GAH! Thirty-two!" X cried, momentarily confused as to his exact location.

Anisgov arched an eyebrow. "Unfortunately, Mister Racer, that answer is not correct. Perhaps you'd like to elaborate on how you decided the speed necessary to make a jump over a 100 foot gap with the ramp at an angle of 45 degrees would be…what was it, thirty-two, you said? I'm sure the class would be overjoyed to learn." the olive-skinned teacher stated icily.

X scratched the back of his head. "Uh…" The bell suddenly rang shrilly, the typical sounds of several students shoving textbooks, notebooks, and pencils into backpacks and dashing out the door resounding throughout the lecture hall.. "Rain check?" The teen asked hopefully. Anisgov frowned.

"Mister Racer, I highly suggest you get more sleep in the future…and cease to follow in the footsteps of your younger brother academically. Now, off to your next class!" the Professor snapped. X quickly left the lecture hall, grumbling under his breath. He still didn't get why Anisgov had such an obvious disliking for Speed, even after they saved him from the droids in the anti-grav track. And the quips about Speed being stupid were getting old, too. Truth be told, Speed was smarter than him in some ways. He shrugged it off though, convinced Anisgov was one of those people who were impossible to please.

He made his way down to the track lazily, enjoying the hot weather and bright sunlight. To his surprise, there were several official-looking men standing beside the track with tools. X walked over to them slowly, unsure of their intentions. "What's going on?" he asked.

One of the men wiped sweat from his brow, glancing up lazily. "The track's gotta be updated so's that people can go inside it without their cars. Somethin' ta do with the new project for next year…I dunno. Don't ask me fer details, I got nuttin'." the man stated in a Brooklyn accent, before resuming his job. X shrugged to himself, turning to go to his room. Obviously, with the construction going on, Professor Winn's driving lesson wouldn't be happening.

His relatively uneventful morning was ruined as he heard the annoying chatter of a certain robotic monkey, much louder than normal.

"Ugh, what now?" X grumbled to himself, following the source to their garage. The closer he got, he heard yelling coming from inside as well as the monkey's robotic bleeping. As soon as he entered cautiously, he saw why Chim-Chim was being so loud. A small fire had started in the corner of the garage, and Conor was freaking out while Chim-Chim ran around in pointless circles. Lucy was the source of the frantic yelling, as she demanded to know how Conor had started a grease fire with only a plastic fork and a banana peel.

Thinking fast, X threw a tarp over the flames, smothering it before it could spread to either of the cars. Conor abruptly collapsed into a dramatic pose, Chim-Chim imitating him while Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for the save, X. I'm gonna go get some stuff to clean this mess up. I'll be right back." she said, giving the genius and his monkey on the floor an odd look before she left. X made to follow her, but was stopped by Conor latching onto his leg from his position on the floor.

"Oh, thank you! I thought we were gonna die for a second there….how can I ever repay you?" Conor wailed dramatically, still hugging the older boy's leg.

X grimaced. "Conor…let go of me!" To his dismay, Chim-Chim decided to amplify his misery and grabbed onto the other leg, making it incapable for him to walk.

"Come on! Knock it off! It's not a big deal!" X tried to reason with them, but their grips didn't loosen.

"Not true! It's an extremely big deal! We're too young to die!" Conor cried, using his legs to strengthen his grip on X. Chim-Chim gave a few bleeps and bloops to show his agreement.

X then attempted to drag himself out of the garage, the additional baggage not making it easy. The moment was abruptly shattered as Speed's voice could be heard coming closer.

"Hey, Conor? We don't have Professor Winn's class today, so you don't need to prep the Mach 6 until fourth per-" he walked into the garage, and stared awkwardly at the sight that awaited him. "Uh…did I miss something?"

To make matters worse, Speed's sudden appearance made X lose his balance and fall face first into the floor. Of course Conor and Chim-Chim were still hanging on, even after all of this.

X grumbled, turning to shoot the redhead a glare. "See if I ever help you out again!" he snapped. Conor simply grinned sheepishly while Speed looked confused.

"Help him with _what?" _the brunette asked, making a face. Conor and Chim-Chim finally released X, allowing him to get to his feet with as much dignity as he could muster, brushing dirt and oil from his shirt front.

"Nothing major, just remember to keep your pet dork away from anything flammable." X said coolly. "Anyway, I'm gonna go take the Star for a warm-up drive…something tells me that Professor Winn won't be stopped by the lack of a track, so be ready. It won't be fun to beat you if you don't try!" he teased, dodging the playful swat Speed sent his way.

"Keep dreaming, X." Speed replied, turning to help Conor up as his brother peeled out of the garage…in the flashiest manner possible, of course. Rolling his eyes at X's antics, he sank into the small couch in the garage, pulling a notebook and some homework from his backpack. If they truly did have a free period now, he was going to use it to get something done.

Or so he thought.

Without warning, a tall, brown haired man wearing a dark blue jacket and a helmet that hid his face rushed into the garage, looking around frantically. "Am I too late? Did the fire happen yet?" he asked, causing Speed to give him a weird look.

"Fire? What fire?"

Conor chuckled nervously. "Uh…fire? There was no fire! I don't know what you're talking about! Nuh-uh, not at all! Right, Chim-Chim?"

Chim-Chim blooped in response.

Speed arched an eyebrow at them both, then turned back to the mysterious new arrival. "I don't thi- wait, where'd he go?"

The man was gone.

* * *

><p>DJG: "Like it? Hate it? Drop me a review so I can decide whether or not to continue this!"<p>

Plot Bunny Speed: "Review for the sake of my existence!"

Muse: "Hmph!"


	2. The Fast Track

DJG: "Wow, I feel loved to get so many reviews in only a few days…I hope the next chapter gets as good reception as the first one did!"

Muse: "With you being the author, I find that unlikely."

Plot Bunny Speed: "Drindalis doesn't own the characters, just the storyline!"

* * *

><p>Speed climbed into the Mach 6, the mysterious man from the garage still on his mind. Who was that, exactly? And why did his voice sound so familiar?<p>

"_Duuuude. Earth to Speed? Quit spacing out baby bro, the race is about to start!" _

X's sarcastic words brought Speed back to reality as X's car pulled up beside him. Since the track was being modified, Professor Winn had taken everyone off campus into a small spot in the desert where a dirt track resided.

"This was the track the school used before the virtual track was built." she had explained. "It may look simple, but it was actually much more dangerous that the virtual track, as it had many of the same traps, only they were real. The cost of repairing vehicles…and, of course, hospital bills, got to be far too much, so the virtual track was built." Winn noticed Mitch bending down and arched an eyebrow. "Mitch! Put that sand back where it belongs!" she commanded, the money-crazed teen obeying reluctantly.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Only Mitch could think to make a profit off of _dirt._" Speed and Conor chuckled at her blunt comment quietly. Professor Winn smiled, cheerfully turning to the rest of the class.

"Now, students, we're going to have a quick drill. It's going to be upperclassmen versus lowerclassmen. The upperclassmen will be the attack cars, and the lowerclassmen will have to defend themselves on a new terrain…sand." she explained.

X grinned. "Yes! This is gonna be fun, right little bro?" he asked, ruffling Speed's hair.

Said teen swatted at his hand halfheartedly, frowning. "'Fun' isn't really the word I'd use." Speed said, noticing the way Annalise was watching him. She made a thumb's down gesture with her hand, smirking wickedly.

X, following Speed's gaze, gave a small chuckle. "You're seriously afraid of _Annalise? _If that's the case, how're you ever going to handle me?"

The younger Racer brother scoffed. "As if I'd be afraid of her! I just know she's going to try something, that's all!" X couldn't really deny Speed's claim; he knew it was true, too.

Professor Winn nodded firmly. "Drivers…to your cars!"

Conor and Lucy looked worried. "Uhm, Professor Winn?" Lucy started.

The Asian woman turned to them. "Yes, what is it?" she asked.

"Uh…there's no controls, or monitors, or anything! How're we supposed to communicate with Speed and X?" Conor demanded.

Professor Winn gave a small chuckle. "Oh, yes. You don't. The drivers need to practice driving without computers. Without the track controls, none of their systems will work. They'll have to either drive the old-fashioned way or get an F for today."

Conor let out a squeak of horror. "B-but…they don't even know!"

Professor Winn nodded solemnly. "I know. It's not a fair tactic, but I'm afraid it's tradition when the first years race on sand for the first time. It's been happening since the school opened. The upperclassmen already know about it because they did it last year."

Lucy arched an eyebrow. "Was the track being fixed at the same time last year?"

Professor Winn smiled. "Of course not. Last year, we used a highly sophisticated hologram that looked like several repairmen. This year, coincidentally, the track actually needed to be modified, so we had the sand race a bit earlier than the years previously. It was originally scheduled for next week, but with the school year almost over, we decided to give the students a head start on sand racing."

Conor still looked nervous, and Lucy merely looked frustrated. Professor Winn noticed this, and spoke reassuring words. "Relax, you two. Speed is a good driver, he'll be fine. Besides, X won't let him get knocked around too badly. Despite his earlier words, he cares much for his brother. Now, let's get this show on the road!"

Lucy, Conor, and Chim-Chim followed Professor Winn off to the side of the track, the cars rumbling up to the starting line.

"Students, remember, this is real. Upperclassmen, don't get too rough with the lowerclassmen…we don't want any injuries here. Too violent of behavior will result in an F for today. The rules are simple. Lowerclassmen will have to get around the course three times in five minutes. Once the five minutes are up, any lowerclassmen not across the finish line will have to write an essay about desert driving techniques. Upperclassmen, you must stop the lowerclassmen from finishing in time, and also are not allowed to make actual contact with the lowerclassmen's cars. Any questions?" Professor Winn asked.

Silence met her question.

"Then…GO!"

The cars lurched forward all at once, except for two. Speed had initially hung back, planning on letting the upperclassmen go after easier prey, but Annalise, seeing this, slammed on the brakes and immediately went after him. The brunet shifted into second, picking up speed as Annalise followed him closely.

Meanwhile, X was picking off the younger students left and right, chasing them into spots where their tires would have no traction on the fine grains of sand. Many of them had never driven on sand before, and with the addition of having no computers, were failing miserably.

Speed flipped the comm. system on quickly. "Lucy, Conor, any idea how to get Annalise off my tail?" He was met with silence. "…Guys?" He was abruptly forced to swerve to the left as Jesse and Jared split their car so they could attack him. Jesse continued following Speed, while Jared, bored, moved away to go find other targets.

X frowned as he saw Annalise, true to Speed's earlier prediction, hot on his little brother's heels, with Jesse behind him as well.

"_That's weird…where's Jared?"_ X thought.

Suddenly, the other twin appeared, racing at insane speeds from the right, ready to strike Speed on his only free side. With Jesse on his left, and Annalise behind him, he was boxed in.

X immediately panicked. "Speed! You moron, speed up or you're gonna get killed!" he yelled, even though he knew there was no way for him to hear him. Professor Winn was watching Jared's approach with calculating eyes.

"That boy_ better_ be playing chicken, or I swear I'll get him expelled for this!" she stated coldly. She did NOT condone unnecessary violence on _her_ track. Conor was shivering in nervousness, Chim-Chim bleeping loudly. Lucy, however, was watching the Mach 6.

"_You better not be planning what I think you're planning…" _she thought, biting her nails anxiously.

Speed did nothing, watching Jared approach him quickly. Judging by the grin on the twin's face, he was NOT playing chicken. His first instinct was to speed up just enough so that Jared would have to re-adjust his angle in order to hit the Mach 6, which would definitely kill his speed. But then the world seemed to slow down, white lines appearing in his vision, showing a risky move.

Speed narrowed his eyes, watching Jared get even closer.

X raced towards Jared, ready to ram him so he wouldn't hit his little brother, but he knew, even as he sped up, that he wouldn't get there in time. And still Speed remained at the same pace.

Annalise watched Speed in horror, realizing he wasn't going to move. "You're crazy, moron! Freaking crazy!" When she told Jared before the race to try this maneuver, she hadn't really expected it to work. She hadn't really _wanted_ it to, honestly. Not that she liked Speed, she just didn't want to watch someone die in front of her. She _hated_ blood, and besides, killing was her Daddy's job.

Jared was literally a foot away before Speed made his move. The younger Racer brother hit the jacks. He cut it so close, however, that the front of Jared's car drove a deep gouge in the side of the Mach 6. Using the momentum from Jared's hit, Speed was knocked over Jesse, leaving Jesse right in Jared's path and Speed a safe distance away. At the same time, Jared slammed on the brake, while Annalise and Jesse madly swerved away from him so they wouldn't be hit. In the process, the two collided.

Speed sped off quickly, catching up to the few lowerclassmen who were left, other upperclassmen eagerly chasing after them.

X released a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. What a stupid move! "You…you idiot! God, you're either really lucky, or just really dumb!" he whispered, shocked that Speed had tried a move so risky. If he had messed that up, all four of them could have dog piled and died!

The older Racer brother sped up, shaking his head in utter disbelief, catching up to the rest of the pack almost instantly. Jared looked ready to get back into the race, but was stopped by Professor Winn pulling him from his car with surprising strength for a woman of her size.

"You are in _serious_ trouble mister!" she hissed, eyes narrowed angrily. Jared shrugged her grip off, instantly defensive.

"I missed him, what's the big deal?" he complained.

Professor Winn gestured to Annalise and Jesse, both of which looked thoroughly shocked that Jared hadn't pulled away at the last minute. The Spoiled Brat's front end was slightly crushed from colliding with Jesse, and the back end of Jesse's car was damaged for the same reason.

"The big deal? This is the _big deal! _You could have killed all three of them! After this race is over, you're going to have a talk with Headmaster Spritle. A _long_ talk." the teacher said firmly.

Lucy shot Jared an angry look, while Conor had finally stopped hyperventilating and was now watching the rest of the race with worried eyes. Three minutes had already elapsed, and Speed was only on his first lap. Luckily, he was making up a surprising amount of time. Sand racing didn't seem to bother Speed as much as the rest of the lowerclassmen.

The rest of the race went relatively uneventfully, X's position directly behind Speed keeping ornery upperclassmen away. The older Racer brother had seen Speed get thrown…even though that was his plan, it still looked like a painful landing. It was probably a good idea to take it slow for the rest of the race.

The other upperclassmen went for the rest of the lowerclassmen instead. Soon, Speed was the only one left, but he still had the lead. The finish line was approaching. Speed smiled, glad he wouldn't have to do an essay like the other students who had failed. X wasn't even trying to pass him or stop him, for which Speed was grateful. He glanced in his rear-view mirror to see how far behind him X was-

Blue eyes met his, the face hidden by a helmet.

"What the-!"

"Speed, don't freak out-!" the man from the garage begged softly from the backseat. Immensely horrified, Speed turned around to face the man, the Mach 6's steering wheel yanking hard to the left as it snagged on a rock underneath the sand. Unable to grip the tiny grains, the Mach 6 spun out, going into a roll down the slight hill the track was set up on. Luckily, it landed right-side up, but Speed had still felt every time the roof smashed into the ground during the roll.

"Ohemgee!" Conor squealed in horror. "Speed!" He, Lucy, and Professor Winn rushed towards the Mach 6, worried Speed had been hurt.

X immediately spun his car around in a perfect 360, the sand not even affecting how he drove from months of rigorous practice. He raced down the hill and bolted from his car, yanking open the door of the Mach 6.

"Speed! Are you okay?" he asked, fanning smoke away from the interior. It finally cleared enough for him to see Speed, turned towards the backseat.

"W-where is he? He was in there, but he's gone now!" Speed babbled, looking all over the interior of the car. X gently pulled Speed from the car, the younger stumbling and falling into a crouch. X carefully looking him over to make sure he was okay. His helmet had a small dent on the side from his head hitting the window and the glass in it was cracked, but other than that, he looked okay. Then again, looks could be deceiving.

"Speed…what are you talking about?" he asked, pulling the damaged helmet off and setting it on top of the smoking car. Speed had a small cut above his eyebrow that was bleeding generously, but that was probably the only real injury he had, besides soreness from wrecking twice in one race.

Speed ignored the blood, staring at the Mach 6 with a confused expression on his face. "How did he get in there without anyone seeing him? How did he get _out_ without someone noticing him!"

X blew hair out of his eyes impatiently. "Ayayay…who's 'he'? Your imaginary friend?" he asked, wondering if Speed had hit his head harder than he thought.

"N-no! He was-"

Just then, Conor, Lucy, and Professor Winn made it over to the wreck.

"Are you okay, Speed? Are you hurt?" Lucy asked, while Professor Winn carefully surveyed the damage to the Mach 6. The front end was smoking, and the roof was smashed from rolling, and of course there was still a huge gauge on the right side, but those were minor compared to what could have happened.

Speed shook his head stubbornly, while Conor looked at the Mach 6 in horror.

"My baby…what did you do to my baby?" Conor wailed, falling to his knees dramatically while Chim-Chim sobbed nearby.

Speed impatiently swatted Lucy and X's hands away, getting to his feet and stumbling over to Conor.

"That guy from the garage…he was in the backseat!" he said, still in slight shock. Conor's eyes widened.

"Really? What did he want? I bet he was a _pirate_! He looked very piratey the first time we saw him…yeah, he _had _to be a pirate…did he try to turn you into his evil parrot? Oh my God, he _did_, didn't he?" Conor cried as Chim-Chim climbed onto Speed's shoulder and squawked for effect.

X resisted the urge to slap something, most likely the source of all this stupidity.

"Somehow I doubt there was a pirate in the Mach 6...but let's check the video from that race, just in case." Lucy said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

* * *

><p>After the race was over, Lucy, Conor, and X had gone off to investigate the video, while Professor Winn had dragged Jared to Spritle's office. She forced Speed to go with her to be examined by the school nurse as well.<p>

Unfortunately, Spritle wanted to see him first.

"Calm down Speed, you're not in trouble." Spritle stated, noting his nephew's nervous expression. "Now, have a seat. I just want to talk about today's race."

Speed nodded.

"Good. Now, can you explain to me what happened?" Spritle asked gently.

The brunet teen frowned, and told Spritle everything, from meeting the mysterious man in the garage, his cryptic words, and his magical disappearance from the backseat of the Mach 6, to Jared's attack, and using the jacks to get away.

He did not, however, mention the white lines he saw over his vision prompting him to use that move in the first place. He had kept those secret for so long, he didn't feel the need to tell anyone now.

Spritle nodded as Speed finished his tale. "Thank you for telling me, Speed. I'll alert campus security to keep a sharp lookout for this man you and Conor saw in the garage, and I'll have to seriously consider whether or not to continue allowing Jared to attend school here."

Speed frowned, feeling guilty that Jared could be expelled. But it wasn't just guilt. He had a nagging suspicion that Jared could be…wait, what was he thinking about? He shook his head, feeling like he had spaced out and missed something important.. Still…

"Um…Uncle Spritle?"

Spritle turned in surprise. Speed very rarely called him 'uncle', so he must be serious.

"What is it, Speed?" he asked curiously.

Speed looked away, wondering if listening to his gut was a good idea. "Would…would it be possible for you to…uh…not expel Jared?"

Spritle looked astounded at this request. "What? Why not? He tried to kill you!"

The teen shrugged. "Not really. He just wanted to mess with the lowerclassmen. He didn't mean to."

The aging Headmaster looked confused. "How do you know he didn't mean to?"

Speed shrugged, quickly coming up with a hasty explanation for his reasoning, while his subconscious practically screamed: _'He must not be expelled!'_

"He…um…slammed on the brakes when he missed. If…if he was serious about it…I think he would have plowed right through Jesse to get to me…we were on sand, after all. He probably could have done it without hurting Jesse…_too_ badly. Besides…uh…he's driven on sand enough to know how to do it, right?"

Spritle shook his head. "I don't know, Speed. You could have seriously been hurt. Keeping Jared in school could be a safety risk to you and all the other students here!"

Speed shrugged. "Then take away his driving privileges or something, but don't kick him out of school!"

Spritle frowned. "Alright…fine. His car will be locked down until summer vacation, _including _Jesse's half. He'll also have 40 hours of campus service, and I'll still have to call his parents…If anything else happens, though…"

"Then you can kick him out." Speed said, nodding. "That's fair."

Spritle stood up, staring intensely at his youngest nephew. "And…I'd like to know why you don't want him to be expelled…if that's not too much to ask."

Speed blinked once. Why didn't he want Jared expelled, again? Normally, he would've jumped at the chance to be rid of one of Annalise's lackeys, but that feeling…Speed was used to following his instincts, and this time, he would, too. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped suddenly, staring out the window in shock.

The man from the garage stood there, unmoving, staring into Spritle's office. Without warning, he turned, running in the direction of the building that housed both the Mach 6 and the Shooting Star.

Where X, Lucy, and Conor were.

* * *

><p>DJG: Sorry for the wait…if it makes you feel better, though, this chapter's way longer!"<p>

Plot Bunny Speed: "So, who's the man from the garage?"

Man From The Garage: …

Muse: Wow, you're creepy! Go away!

Man From The Garage: … *walks off towards the garage*

Plot Bunny Speed: Hey, get back here! Who are you? *gives chase*

DJG and Muse: 0.o


	3. Comet Run

DJG: I love how no one can really pinpoint who the man is…hee hee, I feel like an evil mastermind. *smirky smirk* Hopefully this chapter will be action-packed enough for everyone!

Muse: Tell me who it is, I wanna know!

DJG: I _would_ tell you, but you're a bigmouth. You'd tell everyone before I even finished telling you."

Muse: *sobs*

Plot Bunny Speed: Um…Drindalis doesn't own me or any of the other characters.

* * *

><p>Speed rushed from Spritle's office, ignoring his uncle's panicked cries to stop. He had to know who that mysterious man was, and why he kept appearing at the most random moments. As soon as he was outside, he sprinted, finally catching sight of the man.<p>

The man, seeing Speed out of the corner of his eyes, ducked into a garage Speed had never been into before, trying to shake him off the trail.

He wasn't going to be deterred that easily.

Speed burst through the door, looked around quickly, and gaped in shock. There were no other ways out of the garage, and the man was obviously not in there. The garage was empty, except for two unknown vehicles, covered in tarps.

Looking around, Speed realized that, yes, he had been in this garage before. Way back when he had first arrived and needed a car, Spritle had pointed this building out as his private garage on the way to the junkyard where they would eventually find the Mach 5.

Speed blinked. _"Spritle's garage…what are those two cars? I've only ever seen Spritle drive his truck…" _He was tempted to make sure X, Lucy, and Conor were okay, but seeing as the man had vanished in that peculiar way of his again, he decided they were probably safe. Curiosity getting the better of him, he crept over to the first car, peeling the tarp off slowly. Dust flew up, and he waved it away, coughing a bit.

"_No…way."_ he thought, his eyes taking in every feature of the beautiful car. It was bright yellow, curved at the front end with a black tip, a similar black stripe down the front and a shiny number 9 on the side.

"_Is this…the original Shooting Star? The one Racer X drove? How did Spritle ever get _this_ car?" _Speed wondered, studying it closely. Could it be a fake? A replica? If it was, it was top-notch, very well made. Speed couldn't even tell the difference between this and the picture of the real one Conor had hanging in their room.

Even thought the light was beginning to dim outside as the day grew later, a few rays of dwindling sunlight shone on the other car, reflecting off a small bit of uncovered metal temptingly. Speed bit his lip. Could he get away with sneaking a peek at both of Spritle's cars? Surly he wouldn't mind if he just took a look.

He bent to lift the tarp off, but right as he revealed the pale yellow and silver pointed front end, the key around his neck pulled away from it so violently that he was knocked backwards.

"H-hey! What the-?" Speed cried, tugging the key from around his neck before it strangled him. It was glowing an abnormal shade of blue, whereas only before it would glow red or green. It also wasn't making the same humming noise it usually did. It was…shrieking.

"_Okay, bad idea."_ Speed thought, getting back to his feet. He tugged the tarp back onto the Shooting Star replica, but as soon as he went close to the other car to fix the uneven covering, the key made the unnatural noise even louder, and the key grew warm in his hand.

"All right, all right, I get it!" Speed said aloud, leaving the garage. In his haste to get to his friends to share his story, he didn't noticed he hadn't shut the door all the way.

A shadow fell over the cracked opening as soon as Speed was gone. _"Perfect…"_

* * *

><p>"Conor, I don't think we're going to find anything." Lucy stated bluntly, while Conor shook his head stubbornly.<p>

"Oh, no way. If Speed said that guy was in the car, then he was _in the car!_ And there's _no way _I'm letting some creepy stalker pirate guy turn my best friend into his evil parrot of doom! So keep looking!" the red haired genius protested, while X rolled his eyes, fiddling with a pencil while he lounged on the couch.

Lucy breathed a sigh of frustration. "Fine, just don't expect me to do this all night. I've got homework to do, so this 'creepy stalker pirate of doom' better hurry up and appear, or else-"

Without warning, the clip where Speed crashed played again, only this time, the man from the garage was clearly visible in the backseat.

Lucy let out a yell of surprise, while Conor leapt to his feet and began jumping up and down, pointing at the computer screen. "That's him! That's him! I told you! _I told you!"_

Lucy, regaining her wits, hit the record button on the computer, saving the film to a disc, before replaying it and pausing, zooming in on the man's face, which was hidden by a helmet.

X got off the couch slowly, staring at the screen. "Wait a second…that guy looks familiar…" he stated suspiciously. Before he could continue, though, the door to the garage opened, and Spritle rushed in, looking around.

"Have you kids seen Speed?" the aging Headmaster asked worriedly. "That man that he claims was in the backseat appeared outside my office, and it looked like he was headed here…Speed took off after him, and I can't seem to find him anywhere!"

Conor immediately began freaking out. "Oh, no! Speed got kidnapped by Creepy Stalker Pirate Guy!" he wailed, falling dramatically to his knees and yelling into the ceiling. "We'll never stop trying to find you!"

Chim-Chim shook his head, looking mildly annoyed.

Lucy shot Conor a glare. "Don't jump to conclusions, okay? I'm sure he's around here somewhere…"

X frowned. "Where else would he go besides here? All the driving classes are over for today, and as far as I know, there aren't any night classes you can take as a firstie."

The sound of the door opening made everyone jump in surprise. Quick footsteps could be heard coming closer, before Speed entered the garage, his right hand glowing faintly blue.

"Guys," he started, "You're never going to believe what just happened." He opened his hand slowly, and the key was revealed, _levitating _above his hand. It was still humming a bit, but the light seemed to grow dimmer.

Spritle looked shocked, having never seen the key do anything like this for himself, even though he had heard stories from both Speed and X.

"Speed, are you sure that your key is safe to touch?" he asked, concerned. The teen nodded firmly.

"Yeah, there's nothing wrong with it. This is how we found the Mach 5!"

X approached his brother and uncle slowly, his eyes never leaving the key. He had seen it act up before, but he still didn't trust it. The key was floating for crying out loud! It couldn't be natural.

"Wait a sec, Speed, what did you do to make it float? It's never done that before." Conor piped up curiously, Lucy giving a nod.

Speed looked embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head. "Uh…I kind of…went into Spritle's garage when I was chasing that guy from before. Sorry…"

Spritle's eyes widened. "How on Earth did you do that? It can't be opened without the password, and I'm the only one who knows it! Not even Chim-Chim and Conor can hack into the lock on that door."

Conor and Chim-Chim both hung their heads. "And believe me, we've tried." Conor mumbled, while the robot monkey gave a few sad bloops of agreement.

Speed arched an eyebrow. "But…that man, he went in there first, not me! He either had to have known the password, or be a better hacker than Conor. And I highly doubt that."

Spritle looked thoughtful. "You kids should probably stay here tonight. If there's an unknown man running loose on the campus, I don't want any of you to be hurt, especially if he can hack into a lock that powerful. Plus, there's dangerous things in that garage. That's why it was locked down. Chances are, since he seems to be following Speed around, that man is after the Mach 6." He headed for the door. "I'm going to put the school on red-alert until this man is found. He could be dangerous. And, as you know X, red-alert means-"

"No power…no leaving the buildings…and no driving." X breathed, eyes wide.

Spritle nodded. "Exactly. Make sure Lucy, Conor, and Speed know what to do. I'll be back in a few minutes. Until then, don't leave this room." And with that, he left.

Speed closed his hand around his key, slipping it back into his jeans pocket. It stopped glowing and humming as well.

Lucy gave X an odd look. "Sooo…wanna explain what this 'red-alert' is?"

X shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, but it was obvious by the looks he threw out the window that he was nervous. "It's…uh…it's an emergency thing…no big deal, it just means that…um…"

Speed gave him a look. "Seriously, X? Just tell us so we can move on."

X sighed. "Fine. It's a security measure. It was designed to protect the campus from terrorists, back when the school was just being built, which was around World War II. Its technical name is Operation Comet Run." he paused for a moment, seeing the other three students still looking confused.

"Kids can't leave the building, all the power is shut down, and car batteries are drained by some radio signal…thing. It's serious stuff. Spritle's only used it one other time that I've seen, when there was an actual attack on the school by some old enemy of Dad's." X finished, sinking into the couch.

Speed blinked, looking over to Conor and Lucy. Obviously, whatever they had expected to hear, this wasn't it. Conor was on the verge of panic, and Lucy looked at everything in a new light, her eyes cold and calculating.

"So, if Spritle is putting the campus on red-alert…" Speed began.

"He must really be worried about this guy's intentions. Right. Nailed it." X said, before he suddenly froze. "Crap, the power's gonna go soon, and I gotta go find Annalise before the doors lose power, too-" He bolted out the door, with a quick "Stay here!" thrown over his shoulder.

Conor burst into tears. "Oh, God! We're all gonna die! I'm too young to die! Nooo!" He curled into the fetal position on the floor, hugging Chim-Chim and twitching, while Speed and Lucy looked on with expressions of disbelief on their faces.

"Conor, calm down. It won't be so bad. All we have to do is hang out here for a while." Speed said, sitting down on the couch.

Lucy nodded. "Right! It'll be just like any other day in the garage. Spritle and X will be back soon, anyway." she stated, the redheaded genius calming down slowly.

"Y-yeah…you guys are right! We'll be fine!" Conor proclaimed, standing up and striking a random pose while Chim-Chim copied him. "We're all gonna LIVE!" he crowed loudly.

The lights suddenly flickered and went out, casting the garage into total darkness.

"We're all gonna DIE!" Conor wailed, sobbing.

Speed rolled his eyes jokingly, while Lucy stumbled over to the workbench and located a flashlight.

"Let's see if this works…" she said to herself, clicking it on. The garage was slightly illuminated by the dull light. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

Luckily it was a crank flashlight, so they wouldn't have to worry about batteries running out. The three teens ended up sitting on the floor, leaning up against the couch with the flashlight in between Conor and Speed, Lucy on Conor's other side. Chim-Chim merely sat on the couch, occasionally poking the back of Conor's head out of boredom.

Lucy looked around. "Sooo…what do we do now?"

Speed shrugged. "I guess we just…wait here until Spritle and X get back. That's all we really can do. With the power off, nothing works."

Conor nodded. "And didn't X say that car batteries would be drained, too? With some kind of radio wave?"

Speed frowned. "Yeah, he did…that's the part that I don't like…what if we need a way to get out of here quickly?"

Lucy shrugged. "I dunno…wait a second…if we put the Mach 6 and the Shooting Star into chameleon mode, wouldn't the shields stop the radio waves?"

Conor's face lit up. "You're right! There's probably some juice still left in the batteries…Here, shine the light by the Mach 6!" He crawled over to the car, pushing a button on the steering wheel. A brief flash illuminated the car, before it suddenly vanished, surrounded by the shield.

Speed grinned. "Perfect. I'll do the same thing to X's car." he said, imitating Conor's actions on the black and white racing vehicle.

After that, though, the teens sat in silence. There was really nothing else to do, and in such an unusual situation, no one really felt like talking.

All they could do was wait.

* * *

><p>The garage was dark again, the flashlight going out from no one turning the crank in several minutes. The teens were still leaning up against the couch, sleeping soundly. It was now roughly ten o'clock pm. Speed woke up suddenly, blinking. The garage seemed oddly malicious in the darkness. He lazily shrugged the blanket off from around his shoulders, standing up. Vaguely he remembered being cold while he slept, but then...he didn't know. Something was wrong…<p>

"…how long has X been gone?" he asked, breaking the silence. Lucy straightened up, yawning a bit.

"I can't really say for sure…Conor?" she questioned, looking to the redhead.

He shrugged. "Nope, sorry. Chim-Chim, how long has it been?" He turned to his robotic friend, but froze, looking puzzled when he received no reply.

"Chim-Chim?" Conor asked nervously, poking the monkey a few times. His only response was a garbled 'bloop' and a few sparks, before Chim-Chim fell heavily to the side, immobile.

"GAH! CHIM-CHIM!" Conor shrieked in horror.

"Oh, no…Chim-Chim must've been affected by those radio waves, too!" Speed said, getting to his feet while Lucy frowned sympathetically.

"Maybe we can charge him up and he can use his own chameleon mode to block the waves?" she theorized.

Conor shook his head sadly. "It's not that simple. I haven't exactly worked out the bugs for Chim-Chim's chameleon mode yet…"

Speed looked confused. "What? Why not? You finished the car systems ages ago!"

Conor chuckled. "Eh heh heh…about that…I didn't completely finish those, actually…in the original design, I wanted to make the car turn intangible, too, but there were too many bugs to work out on the system, let alone how hard it would be to make a human being turn intangible, too, so I just left it alone…"

Lucy thought about it for a second. "Wow. That would be almost as cool as a gasless engine! If you finished it and then started installing that on regular cars, we wouldn't have to worry about car crashes ever again!"

Speed's eyes seemed to glaze over for a few seconds. "…yeah. No more car crashes."

Without warning, a loud clanging sound resounded throughout the garage.

"Aiiie! What was that?" Conor shrieked, diving under the blanket Speed had woken up with earlier.

"It sounded like-" Speed began.

"Gunshots." Lucy finished nervously, looking around. The blanket Conor was under was unfamiliar-it definitely wasn't one of theirs. "Wait a sec…where'd this come from?"

Speed bent down and scooped it up, ignoring Conor's protests. He ran his fingers over the soft, but surprisingly tough material, tugging at it gently. "I don't know, but it's not one of ours."

Conor's eyes widened. "Where'd you find it?"

Speed shrugged, handing the blanket to Lucy. "I don't know, I woke up with it on me."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "You're lucky X isn't here to make a perverted joke out of that."

The younger Racer brother frowned. "We need to find X and Spritle, they should have been back hours ago."

Unsteady footsteps suddenly shattered the silence in the room.

"Someone's coming!" Lucy whisper-yelled, trying to see through the gloom. Conor grabbed the flashlight, frantically cranking it a few times until a weak beam of light shone on the door to the garage. It had been shut when X left, but it was now wide open.

"…Speed…?" a familiar voice asked weakly.

"X! Are you okay?" Speed asked, rushing over to the source of the voice as his older brother stumbled into the garage, leaning heavily on the doorframe with his hands wrapped around his stomach. The elder Racer brother's eyes were wide and unnaturally dull.

"…I screwed up…big time, little bro…" X whispered, suddenly going limp. Speed awkwardly managed to catch him before he hit the floor, half-dragging him in the direction of the couch.

"X! Talk to me, what's wrong?" Speed asked frantically. Lucy and Conor both helped carry the unmoving second year, setting him down gently.

It was Lucy who noticed it.

"Oh God…Speed, he's bleeding! Look, here!" she gasped, lifting X's hands away from his stomach, revealing his usually pale grey shirt had gone black from blood. Too much to just be a small injury. This was serious.

Conor paled, looking to Speed. "Those gunshots we heard earlier…"

Speed's eyes turned icy. "You're saying someone _shot _my brother?" With a small growl, he stood up. "That's it. Call the hospital, it's only a few miles away. I'm going to find the creeps who did this. Both of you, stay here. If I don't come back in an hour, call the police, too." With that said, he ran from the room, leaving a speechless Lucy and Conor with his brother's life in their hands.

Conor looked to Lucy, eyes wide. "_Now_ what do we do?" he whispered, horrified at the sudden change of events. It was hard to believe that so much had happened in one day. The fire, the accident, the red-alert, and now X getting shot…a normal person wouldn't be able to operate under such stress.

Lucy and Conor weren't normal people.

"I know a little about first aid from that class with Professor Anisgov before Speed came to the Academy…here, lift up his shirt and find me something I can use to stop the bleeding!" Lucy said, giving the flashlight a few cranks while Conor did as she asked. Light would be essential in making sure she didn't mess up.

"Here, use that blanket Speed found!" Conor said, handing it to her. She quickly tore a strip off, using a rag to clean the injury. X let out a groan of pain beneath her hands.

"Sorry, X, but I've got to clean this before I put on the bandages! Conor, apply pressure around the injury while I do that!" Lucy demanded.

"But won't that make him bleed more?" Conor asked worriedly.

"Just _do_ it, Conor! We don't have much time!"

* * *

><p>DJG: Oh my God, I'm so evil. This is a worse cliffhanger than the last chapter!<p>

Muse: Well, let's see. X got shot by some unknown person or people, Speed just went after them unarmed…in the dark…on foot! Lucy and Conor are trying to keep X from bleeding out, while Spritle is currently missing. The Man From the Garage is running around the campus, which has been completely locked down to prevent injury that has most definitely already been dished out. Yup, you've put the lives of just about every character in danger in some way! That's gotta be a new record, even for you!

Plot Bunny Speed: I am NOT a fan of character deaths!

DJG: Reviews are the Mach 5 to my Shooting Star!


	4. Dead Man's Ballet

DJG: This chapter was originally supposed to be part of the last chapter, but I completely forgot to tie it in somewhere, so here you go, an update!"

Muse: It's X's POV of the last chapter. Hopefully you'll like it, but with DJG as the authoress, I doubt it.

DJG: RAWR.

Plot Bunny Speed: I hope this one is a bit happier. Drindalis doesn't own any of the characters, just the plot line.

* * *

><p>"So, if Spritle is putting the campus on red-alert…" Speed began.<p>

"He must really be worried about this guy's intentions. Right. Nailed it." I said, wondering who this mysterious man was and why he was following Speed around. A thought suddenly occurred to me. "Crap, the power's gonna go soon, and I gotta go find Annalise before the doors lose power, too-" I rushed out the door. "Stay here!" I yelled over my shoulder, knowing that once the power went out, Conor would probably freak out like a little baby, Lucy would get annoyed, and Speed would try to play peacemaker. As usual.

I moved in between buildings carefully, knowing that some kids would take advantage of the current lack of lights to try and pull something screwy. Luckily, no one saw me. The trip to Annalise's room was only about fifteen minutes, but it felt like forever.

I knew something was up when I got closer to her room. She was yelling obscenities and I could hear a loud smacking sound. As I rounded the corner, I found out why. She had apparently gotten stuck inside her room and tried to pry the door open herself…and then got trapped in between the door and her wall. Her torso was out, but everything from the stomach down seemed to be stuck in her room.

"Let me _out_, you stupid door!" she yelled, before she saw me. "X! Help me get out, I'm sick of being stuck here! The hallway is _such_ a boring thing to look at!"

I laughed and approached the door, giving it a solid tap near the middle, close to the sliding track. It popped completely open with no effort.

Annalise stared at me in shock. "Are you _kidding _me? That's all you have to do to open it? How'd you know?"

I glowered in pride, acting nonchalant. "I was here during the bombing, remember? I know all the tricks in the security systems better than Spritle does."

Annalise rubbed the feeling back into her shoulder, wincing. "Well, you'll have to show me some of them sometime. For now, I just want to know…_what's going on?"_

I debated whether or not to tell her, before deciding the truth was the best. "Some creep is stalking Speed, and no one knows who he is or what he wants."

She froze. "Whaaat? Why would someone stalk _him? _I can understand if they wanted to stalk _you_, but not _him!_" As she said this, she gave a little stomp with her foot, making me chuckle. She was so…girly at times, it was hilarious.

"I need to get back to the garage. Speed, Lucy, and Conor are still there, and Spritle told me to stay with them."

As expected, she objected. "Forget about _them! _What about _me? _I'm scared too, you know!"

I sighed in annoyance, starting to leave. She followed me, determined to win this argument. I was doubly determined to do the same thing. "C'mon, Annalise, stop with the act. _Nothing_ scares you. If you want, you can come back to the garage with me but…" I thought of Speed's suspicions of Zile Zazic. "…leave your phone here, okay?"

She frowned, walking faster to keep up with me. "Why do you want me to do that?"

I shrugged. "I dunno, just do it, or I'm leaving you here."

She groaned, reluctantly tossing her red cell phone into Jesse and Jared's room as we passed it. "There, happy?"

"Yes. Yes I am."

We walked briskly in silence, the dark school seeming abnormally creepy. Most of the kids were asleep, but the ones who were up were mostly yelling about how they were all gonna die and stuff of that sort. Professor Winn appeared around the corner suddenly.

"Students! Please, calm down! You are not going to die, this is a certified school procedure…" she was saying.

I tried to squeeze past her, but she stopped me. "X! Spritle said you were staying with Speed in the garage! It isn't safe out in the open!"

Annalise made a face. "What do you mean it isn't _safe?"_

Professor Winn gave us both a sharp look. "In case you've forgotten, that man is hunting for your brother. He could possible use you as bait to lure him out!"

I winced. Ouch. Way to make me feel bad.

"We're on our way back there right now!" I defended myself. Pitifully, but still.

Suddenly, Professor Winn's communicator flicked on. A picture of Anisgov's face appeared, projected on the wall.

"Winn, we've found the man. He's outside, by Conor's garage. And he appears to be armed with a pistol of some sort."

You know the saying 'your blood ran cold'? I now knew exactly what they meant. Before either Annalise or Professor Winn could stop me, I bolted down the hall, forcing the door open and sprinting across campus, the sounds of panicked footsteps behind me.

There was no need for silence now. He had found Speed, and I had to stop this creep from hurting him.

I saw him outside the garage, and he _did _have a gun in his hand. Regardless, I ran at him, startling him into running away.

"Oh, no you don't! Get back here!" I yelled, chasing after him. Annalise let out a groan as she chased after _me._

"X! Just stop! He's leaving!" she cried, obviously tired.

"No he's not! He's just crawling back into the woodwork! He'll be back if we don't stop him now!" I called behind me, picking up speed. Whoever this guy was, he was _fast._

And as a Racer brother, I know fast. I _am_ fast.

Annalise was falling behind, but I couldn't afford to wait for her. This guy seemed to have a specific destination in mind, even as he ran. Soon, we were approaching Spritle's garage.

What did he want in there…?

He slipped through the door, me right behind him. Before he had a chance to react, I knocked him to the floor, the gun skidding away and lost in the darkness.

"Who are you?" I demanded, tugging violently at the helmet. The man completely gave up on getting me off of him in favor of keeping the helmet on.

"Stop! Get off!" he yelled in response.

I was beginning to get frustrated. Before I could do anything though, the man managed to kick me backwards. With my hands still clutched tightly around the straps of the helmet, though, it came off, too.

I stared into the face of-

A loud bang suddenly rang out from behind me. I froze as pain exploded in my stomach, my fingers instinctively covering the wound. What just happened?

I turned around, seeing the silhouette of a woman standing near the doorway, the man's gun in her hand. She had…shot me! I just got shot! It was hard to wrap my head around the idea, despite the sharp, burning pain that definitely told me it was real.

Annalise suddenly chose that moment to enter the room, her sides heaving. "X….when I tell you to stop, that means-" She broke into a shriek as she saw me. Her eyes locked with those of the Shadowy Woman, who raised the gun again. The man from before suddenly lunged at her, getting in between Annalise and the would-be killer.

"Run!" he bellowed, right before the gun went off again. Annalise grabbed my arm, pulling me unsteadily out of the room. I followed, turning to see what was happening.

The man gasped weakly, fingers grasping his chest as he fell to his knees. That crazy broad had shot him right through the heart. He fell heavily to the ground, still and unmoving. The woman shot him again, even though it was obvious he was already dead.

"Anna…lise…go hide…somewhere!" I choked as she led me forward. It hurt to talk. It hurt to move. I hurt, everywhere, all originating from my stomach. She stubbornly half-carried me. I wasn't really sure of the location. Everything was beginning to blur.

I think I may have blacked out at that point, because when I woke up, I was in the hallway leading to Speed's garage.

"I'm going to go get Anisgov! He knows first aid!" Annalise said quickly. "Can you make it the rest of the way?"

"…Jus'…Just go, Annalise…I'll be…fine…" I said weakly, stumbling forward to emphasize my point. She nodded, kissing me before sprinting towards the large dorm building.

I cautiously glanced at my stomach. Blood was leaking through my trembling fingers. Not good.

I heard a familiar voice whispering quietly. "Someone's coming!"

Lucy? If that was Lucy, then she would be with Conor and…

"…Speed…?" I called out. Ow. Bad idea. I squeezed the injury tighter, hoping the pressure would make me stop feeling so dizzy…

"X! Are you okay?" I heard Speed's voice ask frantically. I managed to lean against the doorframe, relieved. I made it. My stomach suddenly burned, and I winced.

"…I screwed up…big time, little bro…" I managed to gasp, before the world suddenly began spinning and I found myself staring over his shoulder. Speed had caught me.

"X!…alk to me, wh…"

I felt myself being carried over to the couch and set down.

"Oh G…Speed, he's blee…ook, here!"

Everything hurt. My stomach was on fire.

"…unshots…eard earlier…"

It was getting hard to think.

"…'re saying…_shot _my brother?"

Why was everything going dark? My eyes were open…

"_I'm going to find the creeps who did this."_

Speed's voice. No! They'd kill him just like they killed me! You idiot, get back here!

I heard his footsteps leaving the room.

_NO! _

He's gonna die…that moron…

It's so cold…it shouldn't be so cold in the garage…

Suddenly, I felt something soft brush against the gunshot wound. Even being as gentle as it was, that touch felt worse than the time I sliced open my shoulder and upper arm on broken glass climbing through a broken window during the bombing nine years ago. And that was pretty bad.

It left a scar so big, it had to be covered with a tattoo.

"…unh…"

"…orry, X, bu…lean befo…andages on!" Lucy said. Her words were so faint, they meant nothing to me.

The room was getting colder.

_Please hurry._

Shadows dancing across my vision.

The room was getting darker.

_I don't want to die._

I can't leave Speed an only child.

_Not now._

I don't want to die.

I'll never be a professional racecar driver.

_Not ever._

Annalise will be alone, too.

_I love them both._

I don't want to die.

_It can't end like this._

I don't want to die.

I don't want to die.

_I don't want to die._


	5. Heaven Help Us

DJG: I'm super duper excited because I feel like this story is bringing my spark back! Lately it feels like writer's block has taken up a permanent residence, but thanks to the magic of Speed Racer, I think it's safe to say I'm back, hoecakes!

Muse: Congrats. Now just type the damn story.

DJG: *TT^TT* Fine. I will.

Plot Bunny Speed: Drindalis doesn't own me or any of the characters, just the plot line.

* * *

><p>Speed stormed down the hallway leading to the exit of the garage. He was furious and feeling guilty that X had been injured by the man who was supposedly after <em>him. <em>Before leaving the garage, he spotted an old wooded chair that they sometimes used to prop the door open on hot days. He picked it up, slamming it down on the floor with as much force as he could muster. It snapped into a few pieces, sharp splinters littering the stone floor.

The teenager carefully picked up one of the broken legs of the chair and left the garage, the night cold on his face. It was better to have some sort of weapon, he assumed, rather than nothing. Even he wasn't reckless enough to go after an armed man with nothing but his bare hands.

He wonder briefly if he would be able to kill someone with his crude weapon, before freezing, horrified at his own thoughts.

"_I can't actually…kill someone! What's wrong with you, Speed? Pull yourself together!"_

He shook his head and quickened his pace, following the trail of blood from when X had stumbled into the garage. There wasn't a lot of blood, thankfully, just a few drops here and there…but still.

Speed suddenly became aware of where he was. He looked up at Spritle's garage, the silent building looking excessively creepy in the moonlight, with more blood around this area than anywhere else. Almost as if on cue, his key hummed and buzzed quietly. He slipped his hand into his pocket, fingers tightening around the key. It may not be able to do anything useful besides make weird noises and glow, but it was still a constant source of comfort ever since he left the orphanage.

So, with a makeshift wooden club in one hand and a glowing blue car key in the other, Speed pushed the ajar door open all the way. The darkness of the interior of the garage seemed to reach out to him, but he flicked the light on.

And froze.

The floor of Spritle's garage had way more blood on it than outside, a majority of it seeming to come from the man lying face down on the ground. Ignoring the fact that this was the man who had shot X, Speed rushed forward, carefully turning the man over. His eyes were closed, but that was all he could see though the helmet. He would have tried to take it off, but it seemed to have been smashed in on the front part…he didn't want to accidentally tear this guy's nose off or something…

"Hey! Hey, are you okay?" he asked frantically, grabbing a clammy wrist and feeling for a pulse. Nothing. Thankfully, when he felt the man's neck, he detected a faint thumping pattern.

"How is he still…?" The man's shirt front was stained crimson, as well as the man's shoulder. There was too much blood lost here for a normal person to still be alive! And yet…

"Hang on, I'm going to try and get you out of here!" Speed announced, carefully maneuvering the man into a position to be dragged out of the garage.

The sound of the door slamming made him freeze, eyes widening in fear.

"Oh, I don't think that will be necessary."

Speed spun around, seeing the silhouette of a woman standing roughly three feet behind him. The thing that drew his attention was the pistol in her hand.

"He didn't shoot X, did he? _You_ did!" Speed demanded, eyes narrowing as the woman merely laughed.

"My, my, you're so smart…what gave it away, the gun in my hand, or the fact that he's dead on the floor?" the woman snickered in a sultry voice.

Speed was careful not to flinch when she mentioned the man being dead. Apparently she didn't know he was still alive.

"Who are you? Why are you even doing this?" he asked instead, watching her closely. He wasn't about to take his eyes off that gun…

The woman shrugged. "You think I'm just going to automatically tell you everything on command? It doesn't work that way, honey. But I will tell you this-" she abruptly yanked the tarp off of the mysterious car that Speed had seen earlier. "-by the end of tonight, your entire family will be dead, and the GRX will be mine again!"

Speed paled. "That car…is the GRX?" He had heard Spritle talking about it before, about how his father had almost died in it numerous times…all because of someone named Oriana Flub, and some sort of gas that made you think everything was faster than it was. Inwardly, Speed cursed himself for not recognizing the car. Surely with his best friend being addicted to all things Speed Racer, there had to be a model or photograph or something of the GRX in his dorm room.

The woman seemed to sense his distress and chuckled lowly. "You could not have hoped to recognize the car, it has been almost completely remodeled. The only thing that is the same is the colors. Even the engine has been enhanced. Forty years ago, the GRX was the fastest car in the world, but even your Mach 6 could have beat the old engine easily. But now…the GRX can do one thousand miles per hour, probably more."

Speed frowned, staring the woman down. Despite her threatening demeanor, he had the odd feeling that he had met her before. Her voice sounded strangely familiar…

The feeling reminded him of the premonition he had about Jared back in Spritle's office.

And speaking of Spritle…

"What did you do to Spritle? He was supposed to be back hours ago!" he cried, worried this woman had done something terrible to him.

She stroked the hood of the GRX absentmindedly. "He received an anonymous tip-off that the man stalking you wanted to turn himself in. He's probably still at the 'rendezvous point' with the cops, waiting for someone to show up. By the time he gets back, it'll be too late." As she said this, she calmly cocked the gun, raising it towards Speed.

That was when it happened.

The key in Speed's left hand, which had been glowing faintly throughout the entire conversation, suddenly lit up blue, lunging at approximately where the gun's barrel was at insane speeds.

The only problem was, Speed's fist went with it.

With a loud clang, the key helped Speed backhand the gun up and out of her hands, the stray bullet blasting a hole in the skylight and raining sharp shards of glass down onto them. He winced as a particularly sharp piece sliced into his shoulder, but ignored it. The woman let out a sharp cry as the key also managed to give her a nasty cut on her hand. The gun landed somewhere unknown with a loud clatter, the darkness now working in Speed's favor.

He quickly rushed to the unmoving man, hoping he hadn't died somehow in the course of that conversation. Luckily, he still seemed to be breathing…faintly. The pulse was even quieter than before. Sensing urgency, Speed carefully half-dragged, half-carried the limp body over to the only other car in the garage.

The original Shooting Star.

Surely if the GRX was the real deal, this would be, too. Besides, it would take too long to get the man to the garage. Speed set the man down in the passenger seat, looking around to see what had become of the woman. To his surprise, the woman had seemingly vanished, the GRX's shiny silver and gold paint glinting almost sinisterly in the moonlight.

_What would it be like to drive it…?_

Against his better wishes, Speed found himself lifting the hood and examining the engine. The woman couldn't have been telling the truth about how fast the car could go…could she?

The key started shrieking again, breaking him out of it. Speed looked around, confused, before shutting the hood firmly and slipping into the driver's seat of the Shooting Star. Luckily, the keys were in the ignition.

Wasting no time, he only waited for the automatic garage door to open halfway before flying out of the dark room, sparing only a few seconds to wonder why the radio waves hadn't drained this car's battery, too?

In only a few seconds, he was at his garage. He bolted from the car and ran down the garage's hallway, stopping as two people blocked his path.

Annalise and Anisgov.

"W…We're too late…" Annalise whispered.

Speed shook his head furiously. "No way. I didn't just face down the psycho who shot X and some other guy just to let him die now. Move over. Conor, is the Mach 6 still rigged from the Chezco Chamber demo?"

The redhead nodded weakly. "Y-yeah, but Speed, don't you think-"

Speed cut him off. "No. How long ago did he…?"

Lucy stared pointedly at the floor. "…half a minute ago."

The younger Racer nodded. "I can make it. Help me get him in the car. I'm taking him to the hospital. I need someone to drive the Shooting Star outside, the man from the garage is in there bleeding to death."

Conor looked confused, even as he and Lucy helped carry X over to the Mach 6's backseat, laying him down gently. "But…X's car is in here." he said pointedly.

Speed managed to fake a smile, even as he was horrified at how cold his brother was. "I never said it was X's car." He turned away, getting into the Mach 6.

Anisgov surprised them all by climbing into the passenger seat. "Annalise, drive the Shooting Star outside. Conor and Lucy, ride with her."

The other three teens nodded as the garage door opened, Speed racing through them.

He quickly shifted up to fifth, casting a nervous glance at Ansigov. "How fast of a speed can you take?"

The olive-skinned professor managed a wry smile. "Just drive. You needn't worry about me."

Speed nodded firmly, accelerating even more as they sped down the open road. Their speed was roughly 540 mph and rising. That was many times faster than even the fastest ambulance.

A few tense seconds later, Speed saw the hospital come into view. It was close to the Academy for a reason, back before the virtual track, kids got seriously injured almost daily. Speed pulled into a parking spot while Anisgov quickly ran inside to explain the situation to the on-duty nurses and doctors. Soon hospital staff was flooding out of the door, accompanied by a stretcher and tons of other equipment. Apparently Anisgov had let the names 'X Racer' and 'Speed Racer Jr.' drop once or twice. Amazing what fame could help you with.

Soon, X was being wheeled into the ER, and Speed and Anisgov were forced into the waiting room.

"Can't I see him? I'll stay out of their way!" Speed begged the secretary, but she was having none of it.

"I assure you young man, he's in good hands. As soon as the doctors give the A-OK, you can go visit him, and not a minute before!" she insisted.

A few minutes later, Conor, Lucy, and Annalise arrived, with Conor extremely hyper from riding inside the original Shooting Star, while Annalise scoffed occasionally. Lucy just looked depressed. The man from the garage had been wheeled away in a similar manner as X.

Now they just had to wait.

* * *

><p>Well, to be more specific, everyone except Speed had to wait. After about two minutes of tense silence, a doctor had come back and asked for Speed to come with him. Not only did he want to examine Speed's shoulder injury, but he needed Speed to give blood for a transfusion.<p>

"Well, Speed, he's alive. We got his heart pumping again, but he's lost too much blood. Hope you're not afraid of needles, because we need to give him a transfusion, and it'll take too long to get enough blood here from Phoenix. I would ask your uncle, since you're technically a minor, but this'll have to work." the doctor said bluntly.

Ah, the horrors of living in the middle of Arizona. Yay desert.

So, within a few minutes, Speed found his arm tightly bound as he sat, leaning back in a surprisingly comfortable chair. The doctor had also wrapped some bandages around his wounded shoulder, explaining that he would look at it more thoroughly once X was out of danger. The glass shard had been left in for the reason that the doctor didn't want to take it out sloppily.

Speed winced as the needle pricked his arm, but other than that, said nothing. The doctor excused himself, explaining that he needed to let everyone else know that X wasn't dead or something.

Half an hour later, Speed had donated two pints of blood. The doctor, having returned by then, helped him get up with much difficulty. The teenager felt extremely tired and slightly dizzy, but managed to make it back out to the waiting room.

"Geez, Speed, you don't look so good!" Conor piped up.

"Th-thanks, Conor…I had no idea…" Speed responded slightly sarcastically, practically collapsing into a chair. Lucy was giving him an odd look, however.

"I don't think you're supposed to look so pale after a blood transfusion…"

Annalise snorted. "No kidding, Speed Bump. You look like a vampire knock-off."

"…" Speed didn't respond, having already fallen asleep.

"Well then….I guess we wait." Conor stated, bored already. Anisgov gave him a look.

"I called the Headmaster, he's on his way here. If they need anymore blood, they can get it from him. It's not healthy to donate so much at one time, but under the circumstances, it had to be done." the professor explained. "Pity none of you have matching blood types…Speed, X, and Spritle all have O negative. O blood can be donated to anybody, but can only receive blood from another O donor. Annalise and Conor are both A positive, and Lucy, you're B positive. It's in your files."

Conor gave a bored sigh. "Cool. Hey, when will we know if X is okay?"

Annalise groaned. "Obviously we're not gonna find out if you keep whining about it."

Lucy, however, didn't join into the argument. She was watching Speed carefully, a frown etched on her face.

"Why is he breathing so quickly…?" she mumbled to herself, gently touching his forehead. She puller her hand back in surprise, noting how hot he felt. A thin sheen of sweat was beginning to form on his brow, as well.

Annalise, looking up, made a face. "Ew! What's that sticking out of his shoulder?" she demanded, pointing to the shard of glass still poking up from under the bandages.

Conor froze. "What? Where?" he asked, freaking out.

Lucy saw it, noticing something even more troubling. The injury must have occurred roughly one hour ago…

_Why hadn't it clotted yet? Why was it still bleeding? _

"Shouldn't the bandages have stopped it from bleeding by now?" Lucy asked._  
><em>

"Nurse!" Anisgov said in his deep baritone, standing up. "This young man is still bleeding."

The woman carefully pulled Speed's bandages away, looking alarmed when she saw the glass. "This isn't good. How long ago did this-?"

"An hour. And he just donated two pints of blood to save his brother." Lucy said firmly, standing up.

The nurse looked nervous. "I'll just…erm…go get the doctor." With that, she disappeared though the white double doors, her pace hurried.

Conor moved over beside the unmoving teenager. "Hey, Speed! Wake up!" He gently smacked the sides of Speed's face, but received no response. "He's not waking up, guys!" Conor shrieked.

Lucy appeared to be thinking hard. "Wait a second…Speed hates vegetables, right?"

Conor shrugged. "I-I don't know! He likes most vegetables, just not green, leafy stuff! Wh-why does it m-matter?"

Anisgov was giving Lucy an unusual look. A look of…admiration. "You're thinking…he's low on Vitamin K?"

The mechanic nodded. "Well, it would explain why the blood hasn't clotted…"

Annalise rolled her eyes. "How come you know so much about this boring stuff?" she asked lazily.

Lucy restrained herself from going off on Annalise, taking a deep breath. "Because, I was going to be a doctor before I came to the Academy. My mom's a doctor and she wanted me to follow in her footsteps."

The nurse returned with stretcher, X's doctor behind her. The doctor gave Speed a quick glance, before cursing quietly.

"It's worse than I thought." he said to himself, easily hefting the limp driver onto the stretcher. As they left through the double doors, he could be heard yelling: "In between stage three and stage four of hypovolemic shock, with an extreme coagulopathy! I need a Vitamin K injection, now!"

At that exact moment, Spritle entered the hospital doors, out of breath. "Someone tell me what's going on! Where are X and Speed?" he demanded sternly.

Anisgov stood. "X was shot once in the stomach, and Speed gave two pints of blood for the transfusion…and is now in what is known as hypovolemic shock, which is basically when there's not enough blood in the system. Apparently your nephew hasn't been eating his veggies either, Headmaster, so he doesn't have enough Vitamin K to get his blood to clot normally. He got cut by glass sometime tonight and even though the doctor treated the injury, he continued to bleed."

Hearing this, Spritle collapsed into a chair, a defeated look on his face. "How long until we hear anything?" he asked hopefully.

No one had an answer to that question.

* * *

><p>DJG: I am such an abusive author. Why do I torture the characters <em>constantly?<em>

Muse: Because you're a freak.

DJG: *shrug* Meh. I can live with that.

Plot Bunny Speed: *mouths* Save me! Somebody? Anybody! Help me out here!


	6. Second Chance

DJG: Sorry this chapter took so long. One of my friends decided to try and off himself, so I temporarily lost interest in writing, but now I've rebounded and am ready to finally start the story!"

Muse: Eh…start? This is chapter six.

DJG: Yup! The first five chapters were pretty much the prologue.

Plot Bunny Speed: Erm…who writes a 15,000 word prologue?

DJG: Uh…I do? Don't judge me or I'll replace you with X!

Plot Bunny Speed: Pssh. I'd like to see you try.

Plot Bunny X: Wow, how did I get here?

DJG: Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.

Muse: Also, DJG recently found out, thanks to a reviewer, that she's been spelling it 'Anisgov', but according to a comic book of TNG, it's actually 'Aniskov'. Also his first name is Armand, which I still find hilarious. So, she'll go back and correct the spelling later.

* * *

><p>It had been nearly two hours since Speed had been whisked away, and the three students, professor, and headmaster hadn't been updated on the conditions of any of the three patients. It was roughly 2:30 am, and Lucy and Conor especially were feeling the strain of being up for so long. Annalise had grabbed a few hours of sleep while she was in the nurse's office at school right after the race, but that was it. Spritle had definitely been up the longest, but was blatantly ignoring all attempts made to get him to sleep.<p>

"Both my nephews are in there, possibly _dying_, as we speak! I'm not going to sleep, Aniskov! Not now! Once they're both stable, _then_ I will sleep, and not a moment before!" he countered, the professor looking slightly taken aback at Spritle's outburst.

"Fine, but needless to say I shall be holding you to that." Aniskov responded airily.

Lucy stifled a yawn, slumping in her chair. "Wake me up if anything happens?" she asked Conor, who nodded determinedly. With that said, she let her eyes fall closed.

A few minutes later, the silence in the waiting room was broken by X's doctor stepping through the double doors. Spritle immediately got to his feet, Annalise and Lucy sitting up and listening attentively while Conor and Aniskov watched closely with worried eyes..

"How are they?" the worried headmaster asked frantically. The doctor frowned, a crinkle appearing in his forehead.

"The transfusion was completed successfully, but it's just not enough. Not only that, but now Speed is beginning to suffer the effects of blood loss as well. Another donor is needed. You…_do_ have O blood, right?" When Spritle nodded his affirmation, the doctor scribbled something down on a clipboard.

"Now, there's also been a minor complication…Speed has a Vitamin K deficiency, meaning that his blood wasn't clotting like it should. Luckily, we happened to have an injection we could give him that fixed it for now, but…" the doctor trailed off.

Spritle's eyes narrowed at the doctor's ominous tone. "But _what?"_

The doctor paused, removing his glasses. "Mr. Racer, I'm going to be blunt. Both of your nephew's injuries are quite extensive given how long they were allowed to bleed. As a result, neither have enough blood to survive the surgeries they need. And…one donor won't be enough to supply the necessary amount. Not for both."

Everyone in the waiting room froze, realizing the implications of this statement.

"Y-you're meaning to tell me-?" Spritle began.

"There is a slight possibility that, if you donated some to both, Speed would be able to survive without surgery to get the glass out of his shoulder long enough for a shipment of blood to arrive."

Aniskov glared at the doctor as if it was his fault for not having the correct blood type on hand. "And, that will take…how long, exactly?"

The doctor looked him straight in the eye, apparently not intimidated. "Roughly ten hours from now for a truck to get here from Phoenix. The main problem is keeping infection from setting in. If you do decide to wait, however….it's possible Speed may never use his right arm again."

Five sets of eyes went wide.

"Regardless of your decision, it must be made soon, I'm afraid. X is currently stable and conscious, but the wound isn't clotting, most likely because of Speed's vitamin K deficiency. Speed is…unresponsive to most tests we perform." the doctor finished solemnly, looking away. "However, if you want to see them before you make your decision, you may."

Spritle, too stunned to speak, merely nodded. The doctor ushered him forward through the double doors. But when Lucy, Conor, Annalise, and Aniskov tried to follow, they were halted by the secretary.

"Family only!" she proclaimed. Annalise gave her the stink-eye, but the four sat down again.

"This is crazy!" Conor exclaimed quietly once they were seated again.

Annalise rolled her eyes. "Obviously! I just wish I could've seen X."

"Can we do anything to help? Speed can't wait ten hours for surgery…or else he won't be able to race again. _Ever. _And I know he'd object to that." Lucy said, determined.

Conor shrugged. "We could drive the Mach 6 to Phoenix and get the blood, then bring it back?"

Aniskov shook his head. "The Mach 6 is too well known, and you could be attacked. Besides, even the Mach 6 might not be fast enough. I know of only one car in the world fast enough to make it to Phoenix and back in three hours…and it's back at the school." With that said, he stood abruptly, exiting the hospital. Lucy and Conor quickly shared a glance, before rushing after him.

Annalise blinked, looking around the empty room. "Okay, just leave me here, why don't you?" she cried sarcastically, earning a glare from the secretary.

"Shh!" the old woman hissed, typing away at her computer.

Annalise let out a groan, before settling down to wait.

* * *

><p>Spritle entered the first room with almost reluctance. Despite wanting to see them both, he didn't want to see them hurt so badly…<p>

The doctor had led him to a room off to the side, with 'Racer' scrawled on the whiteboard on the door in a hasty font. Spritle entered slowly, taking in the sight before him.

Two hospital beds, roughly four feet from each other, took up most of the room. A curtain hid the first one from view. On the far side of the room, close to the window, was X. He appeared almost dead, thanks to his pale pallor, but the heart monitor hooked up told a different story. He shifted a bit in his sleep, mumbling something. His signature shirt was missing also, revealing tightly bound white bandages around his stomach. A slight red color could be seen showing through, reminding Spritle just how 'not okay' X really was.

The doctor pulled back the curtain on the other bed.

Spritle felt the wind rush out of him as if he had been punched. Speed was, if possible, even paler than X. His shirt was still on, but a large piece of it had been cut off around the neckline so that the sharp piece of glass could be attended to. Regardless, it was still there, sticking out roughly two inches or so. The shard of glass itself was almost invisible, unless viewed in the correct light. It explained why no one had noticed it until they did.

The heart monitor attached to his arm was beating quickly, at 136 beats per minute. X's was only at 102.

"Why is X's heart not as fast?" Spritle asked quietly. The doctor gave a wry smile.

"Speed's transfusion wasn't completely useless. We added some vitamin K to the remaining blood and it was much easier to work with after that. It brought X back up from stage four hypovolemia to stage two, which isn't as severe, but is still not good. Speed is currently at stage three."

Spritle gulped nervously. "A-and…his shoulder? How badly is it damaged?"

The doctor consulted something on his clipboard. "Several nerve endings have been severed, and the brachial artery was gouged a bit, causing most of the bleeding. If surgery can be performed soon, he should no problems with it, but arteries are tricky. We put a tourniquet on the shoulder, but we have to take it off soon or he won't get any oxygen to the nearby muscles and such, and they'll begin to break down. On the other hand, if we don't stop the bleeding, he'll bleed out in half an hour."

Spritle shuddered. "Is there…_any_ way, any way at all, that they'll both make it?"

The doctor appeared to be deep in thought. "It's mainly up to Speed at this point. I'm fairly certain that X will only do better, seeing as a small transfusion has been made successfully already, another one would only make him healthier at this point, but…it's a gamble. Also, there's one more thing…Speed has fallen into a coma."

Spritle looked up from his unconscious nephew to the doctor. "W-what? How do you know?"

The doctor sighed. "We tested him on the Glasgow Coma Scale…he scored E2 V1 M2, or a GCS of 6. More than 13 is a minor coma, 9-12 is a moderate coma, and anything lower than an 8 indicates a severe coma, one that could last from a few hours to several years."

They were interrupted by a small cough. "Uhn…what the hell?"

Spritle turned around. "X! You're awake!" He approached his other nephew eagerly, glad he now looked remotely more alive. He didn't even scold him for cursing.

The confused teenager blinked. "Yeah…what's going on…? I don't remember much, except…Speed! Is he okay? Did he go after the chick who shot me?" X asked frantically, his memory catching up to him.

Spritle arched an eyebrow. "Chick? You were shot by the man who was stalking Speed, weren't you?"

X shook his head. "No, some crazy broad came out of nowhere, shot me, tried to shoot Annalise, and then shot that guy a few times…she must've had a gun fetish or something."

The doctor coughed. "I don't mean to interrupt, but it's crucial that you make your decision soon, Mr. Racer…we don't exactly have a lot of time."

Spritle grew a look of worry, causing X to make a face. "What is he talking about? What's going on?"

The doctor sighed, approaching the bed. "Your brother is in a coma and is dying of stage four hypovolemia. Your uncle is the only donor around with O blood, and he can't donate enough blood to…to save you both."

X's pale face seemed to grow paler. "He…he's _dying? _Did he get shot, too?"

Spritle shook his head. "No, X. He got cut by a piece of glass somehow, and he was low on vitamin K. The blood didn't clot, so he just kept bleeding, and bleeding…and then he donated two pints to you, passed out in the waiting room, and fell into a coma."

X was crushed. "So…is…is he…gonna die?" he asked weakly.

The doctor remained silent.

Spritle put a hand on X's shoulder. "That's…up to me at this point, X. Even if Speed survives the surgery, he might never wake up again…and even if he does, it's doubtful he'd be able to use his right arm ever again. He wouldn't want to live in a world where he couldn't drive…"

X slapped his uncle's hand away, furious. "Don't act like you know what he wants! Speed's tough, he'd find a way to deal! Hell, Conor would probably make him a robotic arm that would better than his real one! Besides, I'm his older brother, so it's _my_ job to look out for him!"

The doctor eyed X's heart monitor cautiously as it began to spike. "Erm…I don't think…"

Spritle ignored the doctor, frowning at X. "Even so, it's a gamble! What do I do if Speed goes through the surgery, lives, and stays comatose forever? You're more likely to survive, but if I don't make my decision soon, neither of you will!"

X winced slightly in pain, but still forced himself into a sitting position. "I don't care! You can't just give up on him! If Speed dies-!" He suddenly cut off, his eyes wide. A coughing fit wracked his injured frame violently, his hand coming away bloody.

The doctor lunged forward, nudging Spritle aside. "I need a stretcher, stat!" he yelled into his walkie-talkie. Spritle stared in horror as X groaned, eyes rolling back into his head as he fell back, laying there limply.

"W-what's happening?" Spritle demanded frantically as a nurse entered the room with a stretcher.

The doctor turned to the nurse. "He tore open the injury, if we're not careful he'll bleed even more, and I'm not sure he can handle it. Take Spritle," at this point he gestured to the aging Headmaster and spoke to a nurse, "And take some of his blood for a transfusion. We can't wait anymore, it'll have to go to X or he's going to die right now!"

Spritle froze, his face paling at the sight of X coughing up blood. Nevertheless, he allowed himself to be led out of the room, sparing only a glance behind him. He cursed himself inwardly for allowing his two nephews to both be injured. After all, they were in his care, and it was up to him to keep them safe. What would their father think?

And what would he tell everyone in the waiting room? Lucy and Conor in particular would be furious at him, but really, what choice did he have? He could either let both of his nephews die, or save one of them, and under the circumstances, it looked like that nephew would have to be X. But who was he to decide? It was true, it was very unlikely Speed would survive through his injuries…but still. Both of the brothers would easily die for the other. It was a lose-lose situation.

"_Am I making the right choice?" _Spritle thought, pausing. True, his worry only seemed natural, but he didn't want to do anything too hasty. And under the circumstances, that was going to be hard to avoid. What choice could he make? It wasn't fair to ask him to choose which one of them would live and which one would die. A decision like that was beyond cruel to everyone involved.

"_God, what do I do?"_

* * *

><p>It was dark. Everywhere X looked, no matter what direction, was swamped by blackness. Without warning, he coughed, making a face as he tasted blood.<p>

"Nasty." he murmured, spitting it out. Still curious as to his current location, he began to walk forward into the void. To his annoyance, he seemed to go nowhere. The abyss stretched on seemingly forever.

But even as he walked forward, X saw a blue dot in the distance. It got bigger and bigger as he grew closer until he realized it was a person. Details formed as he finally came to a stop in front of the source of all his current problems.

"You." X hissed at the man from the garage. "What's going on? Where are we?"

The man stared at him through the glass of his helmet, blue eyes swimming a variety of emotions. Seeing as X had only actually seen the guy for a total of about fifteen minutes, it was kinda weird.

"Well…? Say something!" X demanded, growing impatient. The man closed his eyes as if silently making a decision, before slowly removing his helmet. Brown hair framed a face much older than it should have been. Still, X recognized the aged man anyway.

"N-no way…that's impossible, you're supposed to be-" he stammered.

"Do you believe in time travel?" the man asked abruptly, fiery blue eyes staring the teenager down. X made a face.

"Of course not! Stuff like that is only in science fiction movies, but what does that have to do with-"

"X, how well do you know your brother?" the man interjected.

The elder Racer brother stared at him, beginning to grow angry. "Better than you do, you stalker! Why were you following him around, huh?"

The man looked away. "Blame Speed, not me…" he mumbled under his breath.

"What?"

"Er…nothing. Anyway…I'm here to tell you something. Something important." the man explained, taking on a serious expression.

X scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Suuuure you are. Listen, where's the exit in this place? I'm outta here."

The man frowned, shaking his head. "X. Your brother is in a _coma_, one that he's not expected to wake up from. _Ever_. If you think this is a _joke_, you must care even less about Speed than I thought. What a terrible brother."

X looked up, offended. "Hey! I may not be buying into your time travel crap, but that doesn't make me a bad brother!"

The man frowned. "You better get serious real fast, kid. Your brother is going to _die_, and you don't even care."

The teenager froze, looking up at the man who looked so similar to…

"What do you mean? You said he was in a coma, not _dead!"_

The man sighed, obviously growing annoyed. "He's not dead yet, but in three years, two months, and eleven days, Spritle has them take Speed off life support. And _then_ he dies."

X's eyes grew wide. "H-how do you know that?"

The man pointed to his face. "_Look_ at me, X! It's obvious, isn't it? I'm not from this timeline! In my world, the accident never happened, and Speed ends up doing something amazing. Something that changes the world hugely. I can't even begin to describe it."

X frowned. "Okay…what is it?"

The man blanched. "I…can't tell you."

X face palmed. "Then, why-?"

"Ever heard of the Committee?" the man interrupted. Apparently, he did that a lot.

The teenager shook his head. "No…should I have?"

The man gave a wry smile. "I suppose not. You should know, though, that they're the group that want your father dead."

X reared back in surprise. "Who are they?" he demanded.

"Bad news, kid. Seriously bad news. They're behind _everything. _Every dangerous situation your family has ever been in is because of them. Your father going in to hiding? Them. Your brother growing up in an orphanage? Them. Zile Zazic trying to get rid of the Mach 6? Th-" The man was cut off as X interrupted him.

"What do you mean, Zile Zazic? He's involved with these guys?" X asked incredulously.

The man smiled sadly. "I forgot, you didn't know…yes, Zuile Zazic has been trying to murder your brother all year…Speed figured it out long before you did."

X shrugged. "Well, you know…he's the smart one. Still, I can't believe Annalise didn't notice her dad's evil…"

Now the man looked confused. "X…she knows. She even helps him, sometimes."

"No way! Annalise wouldn't do that…"

"Oh yes she would. She hates your brother, and the only thing that keeps her from outright declaring war on him is the fact that he's _your_ brother. And she also respects him for saving her when they were stuck in the virtual track. But that's where their 'friendship' ends." the man explained bluntly.

X growled in frustration. "This is all so…"

"Crazy? Tell me about it. Anyway, I'm here to give you a choice. Right now, several doctors are doing their best to keep you alive. If you choose to live, you'll wake up and be okay. You'll survive, and maybe fate will be changed somehow and Speed will wake up, too. But it's unlikely. _Very_ unlikely." As he said this, an image of him lying in a hospital bed were shown, doctors scrambling around him.

X frowned, looking away. "So? What's the other option?" he asked warily. The man was telling the truth about all this weird stuff he knew, in X's opinion. And, if that was true…Speed was going to die. Not now, but later. And he wasn't going to let that happen. Not if he could help it.

"If you choose not to wake up, you'll end up…well…in the past. The only thing is, I don't know what time period you'll end up in. You could go back to yesterday, which is as perfect as it is unlikely. You could also end up in the middle of Operation: Comet Run when you were eight years old. There's no way of knowing for sure. That's the only way to prevent this from happening for sure." the man stated.

X, stunned, considered what he had just been told. "I…I could go back? I could fix everything…"

The man continued to speak. "There are rules for if you decide to…well…_die. _Do you want to hear them?"

The teenager nodded, still lost in thought. He could be a better brother to Speed….he could do so much more with his life…he could even get good grades on all the tests he'd have!

"First rule. You _can't _tell anyone about being from the future, one, because it'll make you look crazy, and two, if they believe you, it could alter the entire course of their lives and change the future enough that you could do something like prevent the guy who invents the cure for cancer from being born or something. Time travel is tricky business, X. You can't just change things without a plan. It might ruin the future." the man paused for a moment.

"Time is a spider web, X, you move one little thread and it shifts the whole thing out of whack."

X nodded. "I get it. Anything else?"

"Second rule. You have a time limit. You're sort of…bound to the Speed of this timeline. If he dies, you are dragged back to this future, and without a body…well…you can imagine. Meaning, you only have three years, two months, and eleven days to get it right. But that time limit isn't certain. If you change too much, Spritle might decide to take Speed off of life support early. Do you understand?"

The brunet nodded. "Yep. Don't tell people, don't screw up, if Speed dies so do I. I get it. I'm ready."

The man looked impressed. "You've made your decision so soon?"

"Yeah. What do I have to lose? Nothing, that's what. I can only gain at this point, because in that world-" X gestured to the image of him on a hospital bed, with Speed unmoving in a bed of his own in the background. Further back, he could faintly see his uncle being restrained by some other doctors. "-I seem to have hit rock bottom anyway. I can only get better from here on out."

The man smiled broadly. "Good for you, X. I wish you luck in the future…or should I say the past?" he suddenly vanished in a puff of blue smoke.

X huffed. "Pssh. Luck's for losers."

The image of the doctors working over him changed as his heart monitor suddenly flat lined.

"Dammit…get me the paddles! Clear!" A doctor yelled, forcing electricity into his chest. X faintly felt warmth where the paddles would have been, but it didn't hurt.

"No…no no NO! X! NO! DON'T DO THIS!" Spritle yelled, struggling harder to get free.

X's attention suddenly shifted to his little brother, whose hand had just twitched. Or maybe X had just imagined it. Speed's eyes suddenly flickered open, but they were glassy and unfocused.

"…mmph…X…" he mumbled quietly, before his eyes shut again and he laid still. It had all happened so quickly and so silently, no one had noticed Speed temporarily awaken from his coma.

The doctors tried the paddles two more times, before wearily stepping back. "Time of death…1:42 am…" one of them said softly. Spritle started crying quietly, no longer struggling, instead using one of the doctors as support.

X looked away, determined. "If everything works out, I won't ever have to see anyone I care about cry ever again." he vowed, before the blackness of the world around him suddenly intensified, and everything faded away.

* * *

><p>The news had just been delivered to Annalise, who was now sobbing in the waiting room. Lucy, Conor, and Aniskov were mysteriously absent.<p>

Spritle was just…numb. He had donated two pints of blood as well so it could be given to Speed, but…

_X is dead._

It was his fault, Spritle felt. Why had he left them? If he would have just stayed with them in the garage, maybe they wouldn't have been hurt…

_But they were. It was your fault._

How could this have happened? How?

_Coward. _

Yes, he was being cowardly. Now was not the time to fall to pieces. Speed would need him now, more than ever. Once he woke up from his coma-

_If he wakes up from his coma._

Think positive, gotta stay positive. Even though...

_X is dead. Speed could be next._

Speed would not die, Spritle resolved. He had to live. He _had_ to.

Or else, the Racer family would be down to one.

He would mourn for X when he knew his youngest nephew would survive. Until then, he'd have to stay calm and composed. With that thought in mind, Spritle wiped the remainders of his tears away. His phone rang silently, buzzing in his pocket. He answered it with a clear, steady voice.

"Yes…?"

* * *

><p>A few hours before…<p>

Aniskov had stormed out of the hospital and gotten into the Mach 6, murmuring to himself. "Under the circumstances, I don't think he'll mind me borrowing it."

Lucy and Conor followed behind him, quickly crawling into the passenger seat and backseat, respectively.

"Where are we going?" Lucy asked, snapping the buckles of the seatbelt together.

"Back to the Academy. If we're going to save those two, we need to get to Phoenix and back in three hours…any longer and success is improbable. The only vehicle even close being able to achieve that is under lockdown at the Academy."

Conor's ears perked up. "Really? A car faster than the Mach 6? Who's driving?"

Aniskov frowned. "I am. And you two are _not _going. This car is known for making people go insane from the intense speeds. As students, I'm not putting you in that type of danger. I'm dropping you off with Susan and leaving immediately."

Conor stage-whispered to Lucy. "…Susan?"

"That's Professor Winn's first name." Lucy responded.

"Ah."

The rest of the drive was taken in relative silence, as the hours without sleep began to catch up to the two teenagers. Conor was completely unconscious, and Lucy was almost there. Aniskov coasted to a stop outside Conor's garage, before giving them each a small nudge.

"Go inside and get some sleep. You won't be able to do anything for Speed or X if you're sick from going without it." he instructed, and peeled off, leaving the two weary students standing there in the darkness.

First, he drove to the main campus building, and turned off Comet Run. There was no need for it anymore. A round of cheers came from the student's dorms as lights were turned back on. Aniskov ignored them, getting back into the Mach 6.

He drove to Spritle's garage next, entering it without hesitation. He blatantly ignored the blood, shards of broken glass on the floor, and tire tracks, instead heading for where the GRX was usually sitting.

It wasn't there.

It wasn't there.

_It wasn't there._

"Oh, no…" he whispered, realizing the extent of what could happen if the GRX fell into the wrong hands. He quickly pulled out his cell phone and called Spritle.

* * *

><p>"Lucy…I can't sleep in my room. Can I crash in yours?" Conor asked tiredly. Lucy nodded, knowing only how cruel it would be to make him sleep in the room he shared with his best friend, the same one who could possibly die at any time. All the trophies, all the photographs…no way. Conor would get zero sleep in there. Even in the dark…<p>

"Sure. I'll set up the futon. Do you want to go back to your room and grab some blankets and a pillow or just borrow some extras I have?" Lucy asked.

"Extras. Definitely. I don't wanna go back to-"

"I get it." the navigator hastily interrupted.

Conor had already seen enough reminders of the events that had occurred that day when he had ventured back to the garage, alone, to retrieve Chim-Chim. When he had returned, he had Chim-Chim in one arm and his shoes in the other because they were dripping with blood. Lucy had promptly grabbed the loafers and shoved them in her bathtub, washing the blood away before the smell made someone throw up.

The door sliding open startled both of them, the pale yellow beam of a flashlight shining into the room and illuminating their faces.

"Lucy? Conor? What is going on? Why aren't you in the garage with Speed?" Professor Winn asked.

Conor abruptly burst into tears, throwing himself facedown onto the futon, hugging Chim-Chim like he was a teddy bear. Professor Winn looked concerned, but turned to Lucy with a questioning expression on her face.

"That guy who was chasing Speed…he shot X, and Speed got a huge shard of glass imbedded in his shoulder…the man from the garage ended up shot twice, but we don't know how that happened…"

Professor Winn's eyebrows raised. "You don't think Speed could have-?"

"No. He wouldn't kill anyone, ever, for any reason!" Lucy said, defending her missing friend.

"Good." Professor Winn breathed. "So, Speed and X are both at the hospital?"

"Yes…but they have a problem. Speed gave two pints of blood to X, but even after they treated his shoulder, it still continued to bleed. So…he went into hypovolemic shock and…all we know is that Speed might never be able to use his right arm again, and that there wasn't enough of the right blood type at the hospital to save both Speed and X." At this point, the stress of the day hit Lucy all at once, and silent tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Pr-professor Aniskov went to go get a car that's fast enough to get the blood from Phoenix in time to save them…"

Professor Winn wished now, more than ever, that she was not wheelchair-bound so she could hug the strong young woman in front of her. How hard would it have to be to deal with her best friend nearly dying in a car crash, then being stalker by an unknown man, eventually ending up in the hospital and near death by the end of the day? She knew, she wouldn't be able to deal with anything like that, and Lucy had pulled it off with aplomb.

"Lucy…Conor…I'm excusing you both from classes until Speed and X are out of the hospital. You should both get some rest. I'm going to finish my rounds and then I'll be back to check on you two. It's been a rough day, and-"

The lights suddenly flickered on, Professor Winn smiling softly.

"And now you'll be able to see. Chim-Chim should be returning to functionality as well, Conor." she said, before leaving the room.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, Chim-Chim bleeped and blooped a few times, his eyes lighting up as he turned on. He made a noise of triumph, but deflated as he was mostly ignored.

"Not now, Chim-Chim…Speed and X are hurt, and I'm not in the mood." Conor said quietly, rolling over. Chim-Chim bleeped sadly, pulling a torn blanket from his stomach and trying to cover Conor up with it. To the poor robot monkey's surprise, Conor grabbed it and threw it across the room.

Then Chim-Chim noticed the bloodstains on a small corner of it.

"Is that the blanket you used to-?" Conor began uncertainly.

Lucy nodded, but her face showed confusion. "Yes, I tore strips of it off to use as bandages…but I didn't put it in Chim-Chim…I left it on the table. How did it end up in- wait a sec. Throw the blanket again." she commanded. Conor looked confused.

"What? How will that-?"

"Just do it. Make sure it goes in front of the light again." Lucy said. Conor, still confused, complied. And then he noticed what had caught her eye.

"There's, like…dust, or powder or something weaved into the material! Just like what was in Speed's bandana! I wonder what it does…" Conor asked.

He began to prepare to test it for what it could do, but was stopped by Lucy pulling it out of his reach. "Not tonight, Conor." she said, ignoring the puppy-dog eyes he gave her. "We need to sleep, just like Aniskov said, or else we won't be able to help Speed or X if they need us tomorrow."

Giving in, the redhead nodded, returning to his location on the couch, while Lucy draped the blanket over the back of a chair. She flicked the lights off and said a quiet goodnight, before disappearing into a side-room that served as her bedroom.

In an unknown time and location…

_Ow…_

_What's going on…?_

_My head hurts…_

_Was that guy serious about that time travel thing?_

_How far back did I end up?_

_What if I'm a baby or something?_

_What if I didn't go back far enough and I died for nothing?_

_This is either going to be the coolest thing I've ever done, or the stupidest._

_I've got to fix things._

_I'm not going to be an only child again._

'_Bout to heat up!_

With that thought in mind, X opened his eyes.

* * *

><p>DJG: Mwahaha! Thus concludes the prologue! The next chapter is when things actually start to happen.<p>

Muse: Recap for all those who didn't understand it: Speed is in a coma, and X is offered a chance to go back in time and change it. He has no idea just how far back he'll end up going, but he's willing to risk it. In the future, X dies, even though he's alive in the past. The only problem is, he's on a time limit. If the future Speed dies, X gets pulled back to the future and dies for real. So, that's some pretty heavy incentive not to screw up.

Plot Bunny X: Cool! I get to be the hero this time!

Plot Bunny Speed: Aw…I'm all boring in a coma! X, you better save me or I'm disowning you.

Muse and DJG: ROFL.


	7. Make A Move

DJG: Sorry for the wait, but I was super busy. Hope the size will make up for it!

Muse: I think quality would be better, actually.

Plot Bunny Speed: Drindalis doesn't own Speed Racer or Speed Racer: The Next Generation! She does own this plotline, however!

Muse: Also, Krystine Star belongs to DreadfulStar. Krystine makes a few cameos throughout this story!

* * *

><p>X sat up and looked around, confused. He was in a car, one that was moving through the desert at a high speed. He sat up quickly, looking around. To his surprise, he found Annalise was driving, and Jesse and Jared were in the back.<p>

"Finally woke up, sleepyhead? Good, you were starting to get boring." Annalise said, smirking as X stared at her in disbelief.

_I actually came back…but, what time period is this…?_

X looked around quickly, seeing if he could find any thoughts as to his current location.

"Where are we?" he asked, turning to Annalise, who made a face.

"Geez, you weren't out that long! We're almost back at school now, only about ten more minutes." she said, speeding up, even though that probably wasn't necessary. Then again, there were no speed limits on the desert roads, so even race cars were legal. Technically, Annalise's street car qualified as a race car, seeing as its top speed was somewhere around one hundred fifty.

X sat back into the seat, thinking hard as he stared out the window, ignoring Jesse, Jared, and Annalise as they discussed pointless drama. He looked up, seeing the school coming into view, as well as something else.

A large, blue bus.

He abruptly sat up, squinting to see through the dust cloud stirred up from the bus driving away. Annalise's car squealed to a stop to avoid hitting the person getting off the bus.

"_Don't screw anything up! This is the first time you meet me, it's important!"_

X paled, looking around as he heard his little brother's voice as clearly as if he was sitting right next to him. Except…it sounded like it came from inside his head! "Speed? Is that you?" he asked incredulously, looking around.

"Um…yes? How do you know my name?" a different voice piped up from inside the dust cloud, until it slowly settled, revealing a teenager with a duffel bag in one hand, who was giving X a weird look.

The older boy looked confused. It was Speed, obviously, but he was not as he had remembered him. Instead of wearing a blue shirt with red stars on the shoulders, it was a yellow shirt with green stars, and his hair was parted to the right instead of the left. Small changes, really, but seeing as he had only been in this timeline fore twenty minutes, X was a bit worried.

"_Oh no! How did I ruin something ALREADY?" _X thought, while saying "Uh…" awkwardly in response to Speed's question.

"Well, duh! It's printed on your bag, lame-o!" Annalise sneered, obviously annoyed with Speed already.

"And so it begins…" X muttered quietly, smiling in spite of himself. Speed suddenly caught sight of X's tattoo, his eyes widening.

"Wow…you're X Racer, aren't you? I saw you at Daytona! Well…er, I wasn't actually at Daytona, but…"

The elder Racer brother smiled for the first time in a long time. "Cool to meet ya, Speed. Need help finding your way around?"

Speed's face lit up. "Uh, sure! That's be awesome!"

Annalise groaned. "X, seriously? It'll take forever to drive him all the way to the main campus building and still make it back in time for class!"

X frowned, noticing Annalise's dislike for Speed annoyed him much more this time around. He jumped out of the convertible, sparing a glance behind him. "Fine, then I'll walk him there, if it's such a big deal." At Annalise's shocked face, he repeated himself. "I'm serious. Go! Drive!"

With an incredulous shake of her head, Annalise stomped on the gas, Jesse and Jared watching them both from the backseat.

Speed looked confused, looking up anxiously. "You didn't have to do that. You probably have way better things to be doing right now, like hanging out with your…uh…friends?"

X chose to ignore the way Speed phrased the last part as a question. "Yeah, well, they're jerks anyway." he responded cheerfully, starting to walk up the path to the school, Speed quickly picking up his bag and following.

"B-but…aren't you and that girl dating? Shouldn't you be more…coupley?"

X smirked. "You've gotta be a special kind of stubborn to be with that girl 24/7. Even I need a break sometimes! Anyway, you're new here, right? Have you gone to Headmaster Spritle's office to register yet?"

Speed frowned. "Um…no. I'm actually not a student here. I just need to tell him I'm here."

The taller boy shook his head, still extremely confused. "Huh. Coulda fooled me. Oh well, just be careful to avoid Conor's crazy robot monkey, Chim-Chim. He bites." X laughed out loud as Speed made a face.

"_I am sooo glad I decided to come back! But what did I do to ruin Speed's outfit? Yeesh…yellow really is not his color. And that hair…oh God, I sound like Mitch. Shutting up now."_ X thought idly to himself.

"So…what's your story? Why didn't your parents drop you off?" X asked, sparing a glance at the other boy. His question, he thought, was something anyone might ask a new student. To his surprise, Speed didn't flinch or act like a supposed orphan would have when confronted with such a question. His next statement caught X even more off guard.

"Oh, my mom is at work right now. She's coming by later. My dad…um…died in a car crash when I was fourteen." Speed remarked quietly.

X gaped in pure horror. "Dear God, I _must_ have seriously messed something up!"

Speed looked at him weirdly. "What?"

"Er…nothing."

The rest of the walk up to the school happened mainly in silence, with X panicking as he tried to think of what he had done wrong while Speed stared up at the school in awe the closer they got to it.

Suddenly, X heard the normal Speed's voice again.

"_X! Get out of there! This is when I meet Lucy! She has to show me around because no one else would! So…scram!"_

Deciding to blindly trust the mysterious voice of his little brother that no one else seemed to hear, X turned to Speed. "Uh, sorry to ditch you like this, but I have a…thing. Catch ya later!" he said, rushing around to the side of the building while Speed started to protest.

"Huh? B-but, wait! …Ugh, never mind." Speed fell silent, entering the campus lobby with an air of uncertainty about him. He began tentatively asking for directions, but, as per last time, he was ignored.

"C'mon Lucy…where are you?" X asked, as the bell rang and the navigator didn't appear. "You have to show up soon! Crap! Hurry up!"

Precious seconds passed, but she did not appear.

Speed sighed in defeat, preparing to wander the school aimlessly until he found Spritle's office himself…

A silver blur suddenly shot down the hallway, colliding with his stomach, and knocking him to the floor. He hit the ground hard, smacking his head on the floor. Loud footsteps followed quickly behind.

"Chim-Chim, what are you-OH MY GOD YOU KILLED HIM!" Conor shrieked, quickly examining Speed, who slowly sat up.

"Ow…" he said quietly, staring at the robot monkey who had knocked him over with a shocked look on his face.

"Hey, are you okay? I'm sorry, I let Chim-Chim get away again, and he likes to run…" Conor apologized feebly.

Speed gave him a weak grin. "S'okay, I've just never seen a robot before…let alone a robot monkey!"

X watched all of this through a window, careful not to be seen. _"Okay, this isn't what I expected, but as long as he befriends the Dork Squad, we're all good…I think."_

"_Good? You're crazy! This is all wrong! I have a _mom!_ I have a _yellow_ shirt! My hair looks like _Justin Beiber!"

X chose not to respond to the voice of his brother that may or may not have been all in his imagination. Oh well, at least the voice of his brother was apparently aware that this wasn't the right timeline.

Conor helped Speed to his feet while Chim-Chim bleeped sadly. The brunette laughed. "It's okay, Chim-Chim, I'm not mad at you."

The red-haired genius smiled broadly. "So, you're new, huh? What's your name?"

Speed stared at Conor's outfit, which, surprisingly, was NOT Speed Racer cosplay. Instead, his clothes seemed to be Racer X themed, with a white shirt with a red 'M' on the front, black jeans, and brown boots. Not a prefect imitation, which made X wonder what on Earth he had screwed up that changed everything so dramatically.

"Uh…Speed."

"Huh. Weird name. Oh well, just look at me! My mom apparently thinks anyone with red hair has to have an Irish name…"

Speed chuckled. "That sucks. Hey, do you know how to get to Spritle's office? I have to show up so he doesn't think I can't handle public transportation…"

Conor smiled. "Okay, follow me! I need to go find him and ask him about something anyway!" As they began walking down a hallway, X quietly entered the building, staying out of sight as he eavesdropped shamelessly.

"So…where's your car?" Conor asked curiously.

Speed grew a look of horror. "I don't have one…and I don't want one! I'm not really a fan of cars, since my dad and I were in an accident when I was driving and he...um...he died…I don't like to talk about it."

Conor nodded, understanding, while X silently grabbed fistfuls of chocolaty brown hair, mind racing furiously. If he could have done it without being detected, he would have screamed loud, drawn-out cuss words.

"_Oh GOD, I have screwed up SO BAD! Words can't cover the depth of my screw up! This is…terrible! He has a mom and he hates cars…he's not even the Speed I know anymore!"_

"So, if you're not a driver, what are you here for?" Conor asked.

"Well, my mom runs a huge company, and…well, she's not always around. She hates public schools and she's too busy for home schooling. She also doesn't trust tutors. She's…um… kinda paranoid. Anyway, Spritle and her are apparently old friends, so she told me to come here. I'm not…y'know, taking any classes, but Spritle said I could share a room with someone and…um…hang out here for a few months. But…he said that I can take any classes I want to…if I decide I want to." Speed responded quietly. This Speed seemed to be a bit shyer than the other.

"Hey, you should take classes to be a mechanic! That's what I am! It's pretty fun, too!" Conor responded cheerfully, gesturing to a fancy-looking door. "Well, this is Spritle's office! You can go in first, I'll wait until you're through in there!" Chim-Chim bleeped a few times, staring at the doorway X was hiding behind.

"_Oh, go away you stupid monkey! This is important!"_ X thought, quickly ducking into an empty room as Chim-Chim peeked around the corner. Luckily, the snooping teenager didn't get caught.

A few minutes late, X heard Speed exit the room, and after Conor had talked to Spritle about something X didn't even want to attempt to understand, before they disappeared down the hallway, talking.

X frowned, leaving them alone. The thing he was most worried about was Speed's apparent fear of driving cars. _That _was most definitely not in the first timeline. And what was the deal with him apparently having a mother? And why hadn't Lucy appeared when she was supposed to?

It was all so weird.

"_Whatever. You need to find Lucy, and then worry about me. I don't know where she is…"_

X rolled his eyes at the voice, but began walking in the direction of the girl's dorms, hoping Lucy's dorm room would be the same.

"_Time travel is harder than it looks…"_ X thought to himself, standing outside of room 208.

All he had to do was knock…and hope to God that something hadn't changed to make some random girl have that room instead.

* * *

><p>"How is he?" Twenty-four year old nurse Krystine Star asked, poking her head into Speed Racer Jr.'s hospital room. Lucy looked up miserably, shaking her head.<p>

"Everything's the same, Dr. Star…nothing has changed."

The dark-haired nurse frowned thoughtfully. "Hm. Let me know if something does. I'm going to go over the security footage again. We need to know if he moved at all last night. But don't get your hopes up; it's severely unlikely." And with that, she disappeared, her black scrubs not making a sound as she vanished down the hallway.

Lucy turned back to her unmoving friend, quietly staring at the floor. She had been there all day, ever since the transfusion which had supplied the comatose teen with more than enough blood to survive until the ambulance arrived from Phoenix.

Conor was absent, having devoted most of his day to experimenting with the dustlike fibers in the blanket. He had already discovered that it had a purpose, but just what it was, he had no clue.

"It has very specific requirements to actually work, I'm pretty sure. I just don't know what it was supposed to do…is it for the engine? What is it?" Conor had asked, before groaning and going back to working at it.

Annalise, surprisingly, was in the chair beside Lucy. She hadn't said a word since she found out X was dead, but she had cried constantly, before finally pulling a chair into Speed's room and sitting there for possible even longer than Lucy.

Spritle, after assuring himself Speed would live, had returned to the Academy, fretting about the stolen GRX. It was the most valuable vehicle at the school, except for the Mach 6, of course. And it could be in the hands of a madman. That car had killed people before, and the aging Headmaster had an unnerving suspicion that it would kill again.

Aniskov had taught his class like normal, but according to Jesse and Jared's texts to Annalise, he had been far more ruthless and cynical than usual.

Professor Winn had surprised them all by arriving around lunch to see how the Racer brothers were. When she found out X was actually dead, she had been heartbroken. Spritle was a dear friend of hers, and she had been fond of X as he was growing up. She could clearly remember back when he was only an infant, tottering around the school, following Spritle around and crying madly whenever he was left at the bottom of the stairs. She had known Speed for less than a year, but already he was one of her personal favorite students. Not that she'd ever tell anyone, but still…

"I'm assuming, Headmaster, that you don't want anyone to know about…?" she asked.

"I…I don't know…wait a week, and if Speed's still in a coma, we'll have an assembly about it. It's only been one day and the students have already noticed them being gone…Susan, what do I do?" Spritle asked weakly, shocking the defensive-driving teacher. In all her years working at the Academy, never had Spritle ever asked someone else for advice regarding running the school. He was always sure about what was best for the students, and never faltered.

"Spritle…we can't wait for a week. We need to tell the students now, or they'll pester Conor, Lucy, and Annalise into exhaustion. They deserve to know, at any rate. I'll tell the students…but you need to tell the boys' father, and Damian Russ, Dr. Cheszco, and anyone else you can get find that needs to know. Aniskov is busy tracking the GRX, but I'm sure he'll be willing to help out if you need it…" Professor Winn stated gently.

Spritle sighed, steeping away from his office window. "You're right, as usual. Call the meeting after lunch, and I'll tell…I'll tell Speed. He's going to be heartbroken…"

Professor Winn sighed. "He needs to know as well. I'm going back to the hospital…I'm pretty sure Lucy and Annalise haven't eaten anything today. I'll bring them some spaghetti from lunch today." Spritle made no response except to nod.

When Professor Winn got to the hospital, she frowned. Lucy and Annalise seemed to be arguing, which was the first time either of them had really talked since X's death.

"Why did you change his shirt and mess with his hair? You idiot, we aren't supposed to move him around too much! You could have killed him!" Lucy shrieked.

"I didn't touch him, his shirt's always been yellow and his hair always looks like that! Don't you know anything? And you claim to be his friend!" Annalise snapped.

The Professor quickly got in between the two girls. "What is going on here?" she demanded. Annalise burst into angry tears, while Lucy merely snarled in response.

"Annalise decided it would be fun to ignore the doctor and change Speed's shirt, an then mess with his hair! He hates yellow!" Lucy stated icily, shooting a glare at the other girl.

Sure enough, when Professor Winn looked at Speed, his normally blue shirt was yellow, the red stars now green. His hair was also parted in the opposite direction.

"Annalise…are you completely, 100% sure you didn't touch him?" Professor Winn asked.

"For the last time, yes! I only left for a few minutes to find that creepy doctor, and when I got back, Lucy started yelling at me! His shirt's _always_ been yellow, for Christ's sakes!" the distraught girl shrieked.

Professor Winn froze. She knew Speed had always worn a blue shirt...and yet...

This was being caused by the person who stole the GRX.

"I must go. I need to talk to Spritle…complications have just arisen. Here, both of you eat this." she said, handing them the food before departing quickly. If her suspicions were correct, the person who had stolen the GRX had already started using its more…unusual functions.

* * *

><p>"So…what room number did he give you?" Conor asked.<p>

"Uh…156..." Speed replied, glancing at the card key.

Conor grinned widely. "That's awesome! That's my room, too! We'll be roomies!" He slid his own card key through the slot, the door making a small ping and opening.

Speed was not expecting what he saw when he got into the room.

The décor was entirely based around Racer X, and to a lesser extent, Speed Racer. There were two beds on opposite sides of the room, and sitting on one of the beds was a girl dressed in a red and black plaid miniskirt, a black tank top, and red high heels. Her brown hair was curly and shoulder length, and her lips had bright red lipstick on them. She smiled when they entered the room.

"Hi, you must be new here. My name is Lucy. Nice to meet you." she said, standing up and shaking Speed's hand politely.

"…h-hi…" Speed stuttered. She had to be the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen…but something seemed a bit…off about her. It must have just been his imagination, though.

"Conor, when are you going to find us a driver? That car you've been building has been sitting out in the garage _forever_, and all it's doing is hogging space. What's the point in having it if no one uses it?" she asked. She suddenly arched an eyebrow, glancing at Speed. "_You_ don't happen to be a racecar driver, do you?"

He shook his head. "Um…no…"

Conor piped up. "This is Speed. He's staying at the school as a favor, but he's not taking any classes."

"Dang. Oh well. I've got homework, so I've gotta go. Buuut…I'll be in touch. See ya, Speed." Lucy said flirtatiously, before exiting the room.

Speed frowned as soon as she left. "There's something not right about her…she's pretty, but…"

Conor nodded. "I know, right? It's almost like she's…I dunno. Never mind."

* * *

><p>X knocked on the door of what he prayed was Lucy's room. To his surprise, it opened, even without a card key. He cautiously entered the room, and froze.<p>

The walls were painted red and purple, with small gold stars all over them. The bed was decorated with purple and red pillow, and fluffy red blankets. X's attention was suddenly grabbed by one of the many gold-framed pictures on the wall. To his immense shock, one of them was a picture of two girls at roughly age ten. One of them was a dark-skinned girl in a nurse outfit, probably Lucy when she was younger, and the other was a very familiar strawberry-blonde in a Miss Universe costume.

Annalise.

Still in shock, X moved onto the next picture. Lucy and Annalise at age fourteen, shopping together at the mall. The next one. Lucy and Annalise on what looked like the first day of school at the Academy.

Annalise and Lucy were…friends?

And judging by the photos, they were _close_ friends, maybe even _best_ friends.

X quickly bolted out of the room, still hopelessly confused, but was stopped as he nearly knocked a young lady over.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was goi- LUCY?" he practically shrieked in disbelief. She made a face.

"What? Were you expecting someone else?" she demanded, shifting her weight to one foot and putting her hands on her hips in the most girlish pose X had ever seen her use. Not only that, but her hair was long, and she was wearing a _miniskirt!_

"I gotta get outta here…" X muttered, rushing past her.

His entire reality had just shifted. Nothing was even close to being the way it should. How could he stop the accident when Speed had suddenly become afraid of cars, Conor was now obsessed with Racer X, and Lucy was now looking and acting like a girl?

"How can this get any worse?" he mumbled to himself.

And suddenly, from across the campus lobby near the door, came a familiar voice.

"Hey, X! Wait up! My mom wants to meet you!" Speed called. X frowned, looked up…and froze. As Speed and his mother approached him, his only thought was to run away as fast as he could. For the woman with Speed who claimed to be his 'mother', had a sickeningly familiar expression on her face.

"Ah, X. It's been such a long time since I saw you last. I'd say about…16 years?" she asked, laughing with a sugar sweet fakeness that made X was to be sick. He resisted the urge to attack the woman in front of him, even as she held her hand out to shake.

The last time her hand had been outstretched like that, there had been a gun in it.

Glancing behind her, X paled even more as he saw the car she had arrived it. It was sleeker, shinier, but still recognizable.

The GRX.

"No way…" he breathed. He knew Spritle had locked the car away because there was something wrong with it…every time you drove over 300 miles per hour in it, the driver would vanish without a trace. No one knew where they'd end up…but if time travel was real for X…the Shadowy Woman in front of him must have figured out that she could go back in time in the GRX…and stolen it.

That was it! She had been in the garage that night to steal the GRX, go back in time, and alter it for her own means. X had gone back, too, but it was too late. She had been there for 16 years, if she was telling the truth…X hadn't even been there for a day.

"_X. Listen to me! She's trying to mess with you, just ignore her! She can't do anything to you in front of me. She's trying to antagonize you so that you'll look like a jerk in front of me and she can look better by comparison! Say goodbye, and walk away!"_

X frowned, and ignored the voice of his _real_ little brother. "Nice to meet you." he said, his best poker face in position. He had played the paparazzi game for years, it was easy to pretend that he didn't want to knock that self-satisfied smirk off her face.

She turned to Speed. "Now, sweetie, be good for Spritle, and don't do anything I wouldn't approve of."

Speed groaned. "I'll be _fine_, Mom. Don't you have a plane to catch?"

She smiled. "Oh, you're such a good boy. I love you!" she said cheerfully, planting a kiss on his forehead, before strutting out of the school.

"Ta-ta, sweetie!" she said, waving, before pausing and giving X an absolutely feral grin. "Oh, and X? Do keep an eye on my little baby for me…he'd be _nothing_ without his _mother!"_

X openly snarled, resisting the urge to do something he'd regret. Finally, the evil woman got into the GRX and drove away, even having the gall to blow them both a kiss before she did so.

Speed sighed at the same time the voice did. _"That went well." _they muttered simultaneously, before Speed began heading back to his and Conor's room with the bag his 'mother' had dropped off for him.

X frowned as he began to walk outside. He definitely had a lot of things to consider about this new timeline…the most important of which was Speed's 'mother', the Shadowy Woman. She must have taken Speed off the doorstep of the orphanage right after his true father had left him there…

"This is insane…what am I going to do?" he asked the sky. Unfortunately, no one answered.

"_It'll be okay, X…I can't really preach what I don't understand, but…"_

"I know what you mean. Thanks, creepy voice that sounds scarily similar to my real brother."

"_Anytime…creepy time traveler that acts scarily similar to my dead brother."_

* * *

><p>DJG: Sooooo…..how bad did I butcher the characters?<p>

Muse: They don't even qualify as the same characters anymore.

DJG: That's okay…trust me, there's an explanation. Actually, I explained it in the story. The GRX ended up in Speed Racer Sr.'s hands before Speed and X were born, and he experimented with the Hourglass part on it even before the Mach 6. Speed and X were born, though, and he had to go into hiding before it was finished, leaving it the ability to control where in time you can travel, but nothing to power it, making it useless. The Shadowy Woman found something to power it, stole the GRX, and used it to completely alter the present, confusing the crap out of X in the process. And now, changes she's making in the past are affecting the future. That's why Annalise, who, at that time, had already met Speed, only remembered him wearing yellow. Lucy, who hadn't met him in the past yet, still remembered him wearing blue. Also, X thinks he's going insane because he can hear the voice of the real Speed, the one in the coma, in his head. ^^

Any questions, PM me.

Plot Bunny Speed: Read and review so I can get my blue shirt back?


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